


Art is the Weapon

by SaskiaK



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: College, Dreams, Ghost Walking, M/M, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, Mystery, Recreational Drug Use, Something for everyone :P, Spies & Secret Agents, Subterfuge, Superpowers, Telekinesis, dream walking, light bending, powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:47:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 28,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25091863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaskiaK/pseuds/SaskiaK
Summary: Gerard is applying to art colleges and is excited to receive offers. His future looks bright until he's abducted by people with strange powers. But who are they, what do they want and how does Mikey seem to know more about it than Gerard?
Relationships: Gerard Way/Frank Iero
Comments: 47
Kudos: 19





	1. The Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gerard receives an offer for his first choice college

The house was large, even by the standards of the area in which they lived, but the word mansion that was occasionally suggested by their friends was still an exaggeration. It was old but well maintained with well-manicured gardens and decorated in a grand, often quirky, but tasteful manner. A combination of the age of the house with its overall atmosphere and ambiance, one could be forgiven for assuming it had a number of secret passages hidden behind panelled walls and book cases. The occupants thought so too and had spent many long hours in countless fruitless searches. As yet, they had found none, but they didn't intend to give up - their imagination and longing for adventure almost demanded there should be some and they were determined to find them.

The building would comfortably have housed a large family of six or more, but in reality its only occupants were two boys, still in their mid to late teens. With the younger of those boys at school, the house should have been virtually silent but the clatter of footsteps running down the hallway filled the otherwise silent rooms and culminated in a loud flump; the sound of a boy in his late teens almost hurling himself onto a deep, leather couch that almost enveloped him as he crashed against it with enough force to drive the air from its cushions. The boy's name was Gerard, the elder of the two boys living in the overly large house. In his hand was a large envelope, possibly containing the key to his future and he was eager to open it.

Pushing his black floppy hair away from his eyes, Gerard tore back the gummed flap of the large packet envelope taking great care not to rip it and pulled out the contents with a combination of eager anticipation and reverence. He had an idea from the included information pack and brochure that it was good news, but he wanted to read the words in the letter for himself before he let go of the excited breath he was holding. He had applied to three colleges, this letter was a reply from his first choice and also the last to arrive. Whatever the response, he was assured a place in either of his other two selections, but this was the one he really wanted. Scanning down the letter to the all-important line, Gerard beamed with delight as he was informed of an unconditional offer. He hadn't expected that, not even in his wildest imagination. Yes, he hoped for an offer, but given how prestigious the college was, he expected the offer to be conditional on the highest of grades. He clutched the letter as if hugging it, beyond excited, he knew the first person he had to call.

His eyes darted around the room, searching for his phone. Had he left it in his bedroom? Was it in the car? No, he'd used it as an alarm clock this morning. Bedroom. Racing to the bedroom, he braced himself against the doorframe as he leaned in, hoping to see it before committing himself to entering. Gerard screwed up his face in frustration as he continued to stare. The bedroom could be tidier, no, it could be a lot tidier, but at this stage in the day, his phone could only be on top of something. There hadn't been time for it to be covered by anything just yet. As he thought about where to look next, he was startled by a vibration coming from his jeans' back pocket and he sighed, allowing his shoulders to drop in defeat. Well, at least he'd found it. Grabbing it from his pocket, his eyes lit up as he saw the incoming call was from his younger brother, Mikey.

Mikey and Gerard were obviously brothers merely from their looks, both dark-haired and handsome with intense sparkling eyes and smiles that could melt hearts at fifty paces. Even their bearing, mannerisms and interests were similar. The only things that really set them apart were Gerard's artistic talents and a tendency to be more outspoken than his brother.

"Mikey!" He called cheerfully into the phone immediately on answering. "I got it!"

" _Got what?_ " Came the somewhat confused reply. " _Because if it's catching, I'm not coming back tonight!_ "

"The offer," Gerard replied, his voice still buoyed with delight, despite his brother's flippant reply. "From the college," he added. "I thought you'd be more interested. Or at least remember," he chided.

A laugh emerged from the other end of the phone line.

" _Of course I'm interested,_ " Mikey chuckled. " _You have no idea how invested I am in this._ "

"Are you being sarcastic?" Gerard asked, his voice taking on a slow, carful pace. Mikey could almost see his brother frowning into his cellphone.

" _No!_ " Mikey stopped laughing but still sounded cheerful. " _I'm serious. This is important stuff and I love you, Gee. I really care about where you go to college._ "

"Thanks, Mikes, you're the best. Wait till you hear this! This is my first choice college," Gerard continued. "and they gave me an unconditional offer! Can you believe that?"

Mikey laughed again, raising Gerard's suspicions once more until he spoke.

" _Of course I believe it,_ " he chuckled. " _Are you going to accept it?_ "

"Mikey, it's my first choice college and they've given me an unconditional offer," Gerard's pitch rose a few tones as he spoke, unable to believe the question had been asked. "Of course I'm accepting! We need to celebrate. When will you be home tonight?"

" _Hang on_ ," Mikey replied. " _I need to check my timetable, see which classes I can blow off._ "

"None of them!" Gerard insisted. "An education is important. College, Mikey. Don't you want to go too?"

" _Oh, I do, Gee, definitely. Don't worry about that._ " Mikey paused for a few moments. " _I can be home by four, I guess. We can celebrate with pizza and a movie marathon. How about that?_ "

"That sounds great! Thanks, Mikes, I'll see you later."

" _Before you go,_ " Mikey added quickly.

"Yeah?"

" _Have you had any more of those weird dreams lately?_ "

The pause after the question told Mikey more than any reply could have.

"Yeah, I had two last night and this time you were in them," Gerard replied, his voice reflecting his deeply unsettled feelings.

" _I was in them?_ " Mikey replied with surprise. " _What happened?_ "

"Uh... I'll tell you tonight. They were pretty odd and I don't really want to get into it now."

" _Okay, Gee,_ " Mikey replied with a sympathetic tone. " _But you know they're just dreams, don't you?_ "

"Yeah, but..." Gerard paused. "I'll tell you tonight."

" _Okay, Gee, I'll see you later. Pick out the movies you want to watch and get the Dominos site ready. I'm in the mood for a couple of sides of chicken too!_ "

"Okay," Gerard laughed, his mood picking up once more. "You can have whatever you want. See you later. Bye Mikes."

" _Bye Gee!_ "

Gerard hung up and placed the phone down on the seat beside him. Picking up the offer letter once more, his grin widening as he read the words once more. He was off to art college and he couldn't have been happier.

*

Mikey too lowered the phone and pursed his lips. A third offer from art colleges including an unconditional offer from his first choice; he had done really well. But that was Gerard, his artwork and imagination was amazing. It was a shame he wasn't going to get to go to any of those colleges, but there was a very impressive art department in the college Mikey had in mind for him. He felt certain he would be happy there, but he couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

"Getting sloppy, Mikeyway," a voice called behind him. "He saw you in his dreams?"

Mikey turned to the source of the voice. Sitting atop the bed in the poster covered dorm room was his friend, Frank: shorter, younger, with black hair and impossibly perfect eyes. Frank, it seemed, could look directly into Mikey's thoughts. Pulling his lips into a thin line, Frank was shaking his head slowly. The expression on his face, aside from anything else, made it perfectly clear to Mikey that he was judging him.

"So, he saw me! So what?" Mikey replied both defiant and defensive. "It's not like he knows they're real, is it?"

"He's not stupid, Mikey," Frank leaned back on the bed and reached for the joint barely hiding inside a packet of cigarettes - neither of which were allowed in the Academy. Lighting it up, he took a long drag, inhaling deeply before breathing out the smoke, forming rings at first, followed by cubes, then much more intricate shapes.

"You're not supposed to do that in here," Mikey admonished the younger boy.

"And you're not supposed to invade his dreams," Frank replied with a raised eyebrow, continuing the judgemental theme of his words. "And you're definitely not supposed to get caught doing it!"

Mikey rolled his eyes and shook his head, irritated by the reply.

"He thinks they're just dreams! That's all. He's not going to ask me why I'm in them, is he?"

Frank smirked as he stared back, placing the joint back into his mouth he inhaled yet again. With the drug starting to take effect, he found his smirk broadening into a lazy grin and he giggled at the response.

"Well, what do you think he's going to do when he finds out they are real?" He asked, tipping his head and giggling once more as he saw the look of frustration and borderline panic in his friend's eyes.

"How's he going to find that out?" Mikey asked. "Are you going to tell him?"

"I don't need to," Frank laughed, waving his arms expansively. "He's going to end up here and when he gets here, he's going to find out, isn't he?"

Mikey paled as he thought about Frank's words.

"He's going to find out everything," Frank warned. "Including the dreams."

Mikey paused for a few moments while he let the words truly sink in.

"Maybe... maybe I need to speak to the Principal?" He finally replied.

"For crying out loud, Mikes! It's just a joint!" Frank complained through the hazy fog of his thoughts. "It's the only way I can switch my brain off!"

"Oh, please!" Mikey scoffed. "You're not the only one with an overactive brain. Do you think it's easy for me?"

Not replying in words, Frank merely offered the joint, stretching out his arm without moving from the comfort of his position, slumped on the bed. Stepping forward, Mikey took the proffered spliff.

"This'll wear off by four, yeah?" Mikey asked, aware that he had to appear sober by the time he got home.

Frank glanced at his watch and nodded.

"Sadly," he sighed.

Inhaling deeply, Mikey felt his shoulders relax for the first time since his conversation with Gerard. Handing the joint back to Frank as he flopped down beside him on the bed, relaxing into the comfort, Mikey sighed.

"I didn't mean about that," Mikey continued, pointing with a lazily aimed finger at the cigarette nestled loosely between Frank's lips. "I meant about Gee."

Frank nodded, his mind now hazy and seemingly packed with cotton.

"Might be better, you know," he nodded. "If anyone's going to take the flak for getting him here, it really shouldn't be you. It wasn't even your idea."

"It was my idea to look into it," Mikey admitted.

"Really?" Frank replied, offering his friend a puzzled expression. "Why?"

Mikey sighed again as he took a draw on the joint once more.

"I thought it would be easier coming from me," he shook his head. "I'm starting to doubt it now."

A long silence hung in the room while the two boys quietly finished the joint between them.

"You know," Frank finally broke the stillness. "It sounds like his heart's set on this art college. So, I think if he's going to be angry with anyone it really ought to be Principal Scott. Not you."

Mikey nodded, his face a mask of thoughtful concentration.

"You're right," he nodded. "I'll speak to him... after this wears off," he added with a light laugh. "Got any snacks?"

Frank grinned at the question. It was a pleasant change to see Mikey this relaxed and chill, even if it took one of his finest to do it.

"Always," he beamed.

Reaching awkwardly for his night stand, he opened the small cupboard door and a plethora of chips and other snacks tumbled to the floor. He found himself laughing before he even realise it, at first loudly before clamping a hand over his mouth in an overly dramatic attempt to silence himself. Mikey chuckled at the response while Frank grabbed a couple of bags of whatever was nearest. Vaguely in the back of his mind, Mikey made a mental note not to eat too much. There was pizza and chicken in his immediate future, the thought somehow making him laugh even more.


	2. Freak!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A worried Mikey speaks to the principal

The beeping sound was really annoying as it filtered through Mikey’s haze of sleep. Reaching out in the vague direction from where the sound was emanating, Mikey repeatedly slapped his hand on the bed in the vain hope of reaching his phone - the source of the noise. With no success, Mikey grunted, accepting that he would have to sit up to find it, which would actually wake him - something he had been trying to avoid at all costs. He was warm and comfortable and reluctant to move, but the unending and persistent sound demanded his attention. Pushing himself upright, Mikey found himself staring, his eyes narrowed and his mouth twisting into almost a snarl as Frank, sitting at the desk opposite and with his back to his laptop, grinned at him whilst waving the cellphone in his right hand back and forth.

Reaching behind himself, Mikey grabbed a pillow and hurled it at the shorter boy. Frank ducked with a laugh but stopped abruptly as the pillow seemed to stop suddenly, make a sharp turn and swing with a thump across the side of his head with enough force to knock him from the chair. With the thud of his small frame hitting the carpet with an accompanying cry of pain and annoyance, Frank threw the phone at Mikey, a look of indignation and irritation couched on his face. Mikey smirked as the phone flew towards him, unexpectedly grinding to an abrupt halt, quivering and hanging roughly two inches from his nose. With a quick smug smile in Frank’s direction, he plucked it from the air, deftly switching the alarm off as he did.

“Freak!” Frank complained as he pushed himself to his feet, a grumpy pout on his lips.  
“Like you can talk,” Mikey rolled his eyes.  
“Whatever,” Frank shrugged. “Anyway, it’s time for your appointment.”  
“What appointment?” Mikey frowned as he pushed the phone into his jeans’ pocket, getting to his feet and stretching out his long, boney limbs.  
“I made an appointment for you with Principal Scott,” Frank shrugged.  
“When?” Mikey narrowed his eyes with suspicion.  
“Before,” Frank replied, non-committal.

Mikey tipped his head as he looked at Frank’s feigned innocence.

“Am I going to get there and find out that you’ve manipulated his secretary’s mind, again?”  
“Again?” Frank’s eyes widened.  
“You don’t do innocence well, Frankie, you might as well stop trying.”  
“I could make you believe I’m innocent,” he offered with a cheeky grin.  
“And I could hang you upside down from the canteen ceiling,” Mikey perked up, a bright smile on his face. “Again.”

Frank returned with a frustrated pout.

“You’re no fun, Mikeyway.” Frank frowned. “Anyway, I know you weren’t going to, so I made an appointment. It’s in five minutes.”  
“Stay out of my head!” Mikey growled, angry at the intrusion.  
“I didn’t need to!” Frank threw his arms out to the side in exasperation. “I know you well enough by now!”  
“All right, so I wasn’t in a rush to do it, but I would have,” Mikey objected.  
“Do it before you have to and before it’s too late,” Frank implored his friend, adding: “For once.”  
“This is harder than you realise, you know,” Mikey frowned, looking away.  
“No,” Frank spoke with such sincerity that Mikey was forced to face him once more. “Waiting until he ends up here and blaming you. That’s when it’ll be really hard.”  
“I know,” Mikey sighed. “And I’m genuinely sorry I offered to be involved. I’m terrified he’ll work it out and disown me or something.”  
“Mikey none of us work it out until we get here. How could we? Not one of this makes sense until you’re living it.”  
“You said yourself, he’s not stupid,” Mikey returned, growing increasingly concerned.  
“No, but he’s not a genius either. Now go before you’re late and he goes red.”  
“Okay, okay!” Mikey shook his head, giving in at the prospect of angering their principal. “I’ll see you later.”

Frank bit his tongue as he nodded. He almost opted to wind Mikey up further by suggesting that he might never leave alive or at the very least, intact, but that would be cruel and although Frank could be many annoying things, he wasn’t cruel.

“Good luck,” he said instead as Mikey left Frank’s room.

*

It wasn’t a particularly long walk to the principal’s office, but as Mikey walked the length of the last of the plain and drab corridors, it felt both the shortest and longest walks of his life. Talking to Principal Scott was a terrifying concept at the best of times but to tell him he no longer wanted to be directly involved in Gerard’s introduction to the academy felt like admitting fear, or worse, failure. He had no idea what Scott would say, but already he wanted it over with. Now standing outside the door, Mikey took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock.

“Come in Mikey,” a sympathetic sounding female voice announced.

Pushing the door open, Mikey peered through before stepping inside. The outer office to the principal’s own office was large enough for a desk, his secretary and a small waiting area with three chairs. Shuffling fully inside, Mikey looked at the woman sitting behind the desk. She smiled up with what seemed genuine interest. Everything about her suggested a kind, studious woman, committed to her work but perhaps her serious outer expression concealed a sense of fun? Dressed in a pale lemon skirt suit, she had blonde, wavy, but not unruly, hair, and looked up through a pair of smart gold-framed glasses. Only her eyes, twinkling beneath the glass seemed to suggest that there was more to this outwardly sensible woman than met the eyes.

“Hello, Miss Sherman,” Mikey greeted her, his voice giving away his distraction.  
“Don’t look so worried, Mikey,” she smiled warmly. “You’re not in any trouble.”  
“Yet,” Mikey mumbled.  
“You can go in. Principal Scott is expecting you.”  
“Thanks,” Mikey nodded, as he headed towards the door.  
“Oh, Mikey?” She called after him.  
“Yeah?” He asked turning to look over his shoulder.  
“It might be better coming from you, but could you let Frank know that if he wants to make an appointment, he should do it through the usual channels, please? His powers are not quite as accomplished as he seems to believe.”  
“Uh… yeah,” Mikey’s eyes brightened with mischief. “Yeah, I’ll tell him.”

Turning to knock on the door, Mikey let himself in to the office; almost without realising it, he held his breath.

*

Inside the office, it looked like any other principal’s office. A large plain and sparse modern teak-effect desk with wheeled pedestal drawers underneath, and a laptop and phone on top. Lockable metal filing cabinets lined one wall, a book case with an assortment of hardback books and files another. The wall behind the desk was bare but for a few scorch marks. The only thing that could even be said to be remotely personal to the principal was a framed motto, suspended underneath the clock above the filing cabinets, that read - Live to Learn, Learn to Live. The principal was nowhere to be seen, but Mikey said nothing; he had long since learned that even if he couldn’t see Principal Scott, it didn’t mean he wasn’t there. The main question was always - what colour was he?

“Mikey,” the deep crackling voice intoned, causing the boy to shiver - good, he was blue.

Standing behind the desk, Principal Scott turned to face the unnerved boy. Scott was a mere outline of a person; Mikey would hesitate to say man, as it wasn’t at all obvious. In truth, he could hardly say person. The shape was right, but that’s all it was - a two dimensional shape that could not be seen if standing perpendicular to anyone looking even directly at it. Now that he had turned, Mikey could clearly see the black outline that enclosed the ice-blue, shimmering and featureless form.

Blue was a good sign. Blue meant calm; ice-blue even more so. As he angered, Scott would cycle through a range on colours that changed with his mood. Mikey had never seen Scott flare into a fiery red, but he had heard many terrifying stories, and from the scorch marks staining the back wall, he could tell all too well that those tales were not exaggerated. One such story had been recounted by Frank, which was why it was a constant mystery to Mikey that Frank continued to flout the rules with breathtaking abandon. He had toyed with the idea of not letting Frank know that his powers were insufficient to fool Miss Sherman, but on seeing the back wall, he decided against it. Mikey wasn’t cruel either.

“What can I do for you?” Scott asked.

With no mouth, lungs or even a body to speak of Mikey was at a loss to understand how Scott could even speak but it was only one of the things that Mikey wondered about which he would likely never receive answers.

“Sir, I…” Mikey paused as he saw the blue shimmer fluctuate for the briefest of moments.  
“I beg your pardon, Mikey,” Scott interrupted. “I ate something that I think has disagreed with me. My chroma keeps shifting. Try not to let it worry you.”

_Ate something?_ Mikey thought. _How?_

Mikey shrugged off his momentary bewildered daze and forced his mind back onto his problem.

“Sir, I don’t feel comfortable any more trying to ease Gerard’s integration before he’s actually here.”  
“Oh?” Scott asked, his chroma darkening to violet for less than a second. He could almost hear Mikey’s nervous swallow. “Can you say why?”

If he could have, he would have tried to add empathy to his reply, understanding more than Mikey realised the likely problems that Mikey’s attempts to help might entail. Scott didn’t have the luxury of tone or emphasis, with each word emerging in a deep, gravelly monotone.

“Sir, I don’t want him to think I’ve been plotting against him. He’s my brother and I…”

Mikey paused as Scott raised an arm-shaped appendage.

“Please, Mikey, take a seat,” Scott encouraged much to Mikey’s surprise.

Slipping quietly into the chair opposite Scott’s own, Mikey watched with uncertainty as he too sat down.

“I will be honest with you. I was surprised when you said you wanted to help him transition to the Paladin Academy. I was impressed, but surprised.”

Mikey frowned; did that mean what he thought it meant?

“Does that mean you’re disappointed in me now, sir?” He asked quietly, forcing himself to maintain what passed for eye-contact with a creature without eyes but clearly some visual sense.

A deep low rumble filled the room; a sound that was lost on Mikey, having never heard anything quite like it before. As Scott continued, Mikey realised it to be a laugh of sorts.

“No, not at all,” Scott replied. “You see, Mikey, I know you are very close to your brother. It’s why you’re allowed to return home each night at the moment. Well, one of the reasons. Normally, we would have expected him to have attended the academy before you, but unfortunately, Gerard’s gift has taken longer to emerge than yours did so it was necessary for us to wait. As the elder brother, with no parents he has taken very good care of both of you, but I suspect that this has had a detrimental effect on the timing of his emerging gift.”  
“How will that affect him, sir?” Mikey asked with a concerned frown.  
“I suspect it will come to him suddenly and he will be ill-prepared for it. I’m aware he has already shown signs of it and I am impressed that you wanted to help him through the initial stages. I would say that that idea was either foolhardy or very brave.”

Mikey lowered his eyes, assuming the worst.

“I know also that from your own experience being so recent that you are well aware of how scary the discovery of a new gift can be, so your offer to help was certainly a brave one.”

Mikey raised his head slightly before another thought came to him.

“But I’m not brave now.”

He almost spoke the words as a question, but he felt sure he knew the answer. Again he would be contradicted.

“Bravery isn’t always about continuing regardless of the danger. It is about knowing your limitations and accepting them, especially when it affects others. You have done more than I thought you either would or could, Mikey and I commend you for it.”

Mikey raised his eyes again, astonished at the praise.

“But tell me,” Scott continued. “What changed? What happened that you want to stop now?”  
“He saw me,” Mikey sighed at what he saw as his failure - or as Frank had put it ‘getting sloppy’. “I was in his dream and he saw me. I’m sorry, sir, I was careless.”  
“On the contrary,” the voice boomed, crackling just that bit more as the blue paled further. “I think it says more about his awareness than your carefulness. I think it’s time for him to visit the Paladin Academy at last.”  
“You want me to…?”  
“Leave it with me, Mikey. I will ask you to bring him but I will make all the arrangements and let you know. A few strange things might happen to worry him, but nothing damaging I promise. When he is here, you can help him to integrate. Of course you will have the faculty’s assistance but I know you will want to have a great deal of involvement.”  
“Yes, sir, thank you. What do I do in the meantime?”  
“Nothing, just be his brother. That’s what he needs from you right now. It’s going to be quite the shock for him when he discovers the truth and he’ll need you more than ever then.”

Mikey nodded gravely. He just hoped Gerard would understand.

“Now, I believe your transport is ready to take you home. But, Mikey, if you could pass by Frank’s dormitory on the way and encourage him not to annoy Miss Sherman again, please? Not unless he wants another scorching.”

Mikey nodded; he would probably even run, just to make sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope it's making sense - I'm dip-feeding information at what I hope is a decent enough rate to make it interesting, make sense & not give everything away but it's hard to be sure.
> 
> I hope you like :)


	3. Family Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys meet the uncle they believed was dead

Mikey turned the key in the latch to the front door of the rambling house and pushed it open. Normally, he would bowl in, a force of noise and activity, eager to hear about Gerard’s day and decide on dinner. Today was unexpectedly different for him. Today he realised that his regular days of returning home to their overly large house were numbered. Soon Gerard would be welcomed into the Paladin Academy and they would both be required to sleep in their dorm rooms, only able to go home between terms and other breaks or holidays. It was suddenly somehow sobering, and Mikey felt a pang that he recognised as a combination of sadness and guilt. Sadness because he genuinely loved the house and would miss it. Guilt because Gerard was utterly unaware of what was happening. Mikey flushed a deep pink briefly at the thought of deceiving his brother. It hadn’t felt like deceiving until now - not until the last offer from his preferred art college had arrived.

With sagging shoulders, Mikey slipped off his coat and was hanging it up whilst the door closed itself behind him. He admonished himself silently for using his powers outside of the academy. In his distracted state, he had simply forgotten protocol. It was forbidden for students to use their powers outside of the academy without prior permission and even then approval was very specific about what, where and how they could be used. Mikey understood the need for the rule; not everyone would use their gift carefully, wisely and to keep that gift secret from prying eyes before it was fully mastered but he was distracted and had simply forgotten. Looking at the door with a slightly guilty expression, he reasoned that he could argue that the door closed itself some other way. The wind perhaps? He shook his head; no one was even likely to ask.

The fact was that students didn’t usually leave the academy during term time but Mikey had been granted special dispensation. As the younger of the two brothers, it would normally have been the case that Gerard would have been accepted into the academy first, but his particular gift had either taken longer to develop or he had somehow kept it at bay. It wasn’t unusual for students to be of different ages. Frank was in the same year as Mikey and was two years younger than him. Another student, Ray, was roughly Gerard’s age - it was simply that the gifts emerged at different times.

However, Mikey couldn’t realistically be away from home for entire terms. There was simply no way Gerard would accept that his brother was attending a boarding school without growing suspicious. With no other way to explain a regular absence, until they were both attending, Mikey was required to return every night to their large old-fashioned house where he routinely forgot that he had to close a door with his hands, or stand up to fetch a book. Telekinesis was hardly a curse, in fact it was a truly handy skill to possess, but pretty hard to explain away. He thought about his friend, Frank, whose powers were based around reading and controlling minds. He had often passed off his gift as ‘a good guess’ or simply made the enquirer forget that anything unusual had occurred. Right now, he could use that ability as he heard a familiar voice call out behind him.

“Mikes? Is that you?”  
“Yeah, Gee,” Mikey called back. “Is everything ready for tonight?”  
“Uh…” Gerard appeared in the hallway, his brow furrowed and a frown fixed on his face, although he seemed more confused than worried. “I think you better come through.”  
“What’s wrong?” Mikey asked, concerned that Gerard may have seen the door closing on its own.  
“We’ve… uh… got a visitor.”  
“A visitor?” Mikey pushed his shoulders back to stand upright and his expression mirrored Gerard’s own. From the way it was presented, it seemed pretty clear that it wasn’t any of their friends. “Who?”  
“Uncle Emmett,” Gerard replied with a light shrug.  
“Uncle Emmett?” Mikey gasped, before continuing in a whisper. “I thought he was dead?”  
“Apparently not,” Gerard shook his head slowly, shrugging again, this time with his arms.  
“What does he want?” Mikey asked quietly.

The sound of slow but steady footsteps, of leather-soled shoes padding surprisingly lightly across the wooden floorboards, drifted into the hallway, accompanied between each step by the click of a silver tipped cane hitting the floor. A man walked from the living room to meet the two boys now whispering in the hallway and Mikey got his first glimpse of the man calling himself Uncle Emmett.

The first and most noticeable feature of the man was his heavily weathered and lined face. Deep crevices seemed chiselled with remarkable accuracy around his eyes, mouth and forehead. His hair, though almost pure white, with flecks of grey over his ears, remained substantial even at his advanced age and was styled into small, neat but somewhat flamboyant quiff. His clothes consisted of a black bespoke tailored suit with a silver lapel pin that was too small for Mikey to see properly, crisp white shirt with his double cuffs showing beneath the sleeves of his jacket, a white silk cravat and black shoes with a mirror shine. His outfit matched his stiff-backed and elegant bearing and despite walking with a cane, he walked surprisingly erect, as if the cane were merely an accessory.

“I’m here to speak with you both,” Emmett advised. “We have some important matters to attend to before Gerard goes to college.”

Mikey frowned slightly, uncertain whether Uncle Emmett was aware of the Paladin Academy and if so, that Gerard wasn’t. From the look on his brother’s face, it seemed likely that he had no clue about the purpose of the visit. It gave Mikey some breathing space at least. Depending on what their uncle intended to discuss, he might be able to head off any awkward conversations. He just wished Frank were here, he would be able to ensure that Gerard didn’t hear anything he wasn’t supposed to.

“Shall we go in?”

Emmett waved a hand in the direction of the living room and both boys nodded their compliance. Heading in first, Gerard didn’t notice Emmett place a hand on Mikey’s shoulder as he passed the elderly man.

“Your friend hasn’t mastered his gift as much as he believes he has,” Emmett spoke quietly before turning to follow Gerard.

Mikey’s mouth fell open; this man knew, that was certain and knew much more than Mikey had either given him credit for, or felt comfortable with. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Mikey followed him inside, watching the man cautiously as they all took their seats - Gerard and Mikey on the couch and Emmett on one of the matching chairs.

“Now then,” Emmett began, placing one hand over the other on top of his cane and leaning forward slightly. “I expect you want to know why I’m here.”

Gerard nodded, uncertain what else to do or say. The two boys had long since believed that they were the only heirs to their parents’ fortune and although left to fend for themselves after their parents’ mysterious deaths just over two years earlier, Gerard had luckily been deemed old enough to take care of himself and Mikey. If he were honest, he had felt it surprising at the time as he hadn’t even turned eighteen at that point. In fact, he had only recently reached that particular milestone, but he wasn’t going to argue if the result was that he and Mikey were allowed to stay together in their own home.

“Now that you are eighteen, Gerard, you are old enough to run the household yourself. You may not be aware of this, but I have remained in the background tending to the family business and your finances. I’ve made sure everything runs smoothly and…”  
“The family business?” Gerard asked, puzzled by the words.

To the best of his knowledge, his parents had been independently wealthy and that neither seemed to own any business to speak of. Their father would occasionally talk about dealing with aspects of business but it occurred to him only now that he had no idea what those may have been. He knew that neither appeared to have any sort of day job and were frequently around to raise their children themselves. Gerard didn’t even remember the presence of a nanny for either himself or Mikey and remained convinced that their parents were devoted to them, seeing to many aspects of their education themselves.

Emmett stared at Gerard, his eyes narrowed and brow creased. Was it really possible that the boy had no idea about the family business? A glance toward Mikey suggested that despite being aware of their respective gifts, that he too seemed as puzzled as his older brother.

“You genuinely don’t know, do you?” Emmett spoke in a slow measured voice, hoping not to scare the pair.  
“Don’t know what?” Gerard pressed, uncertain if he wanted to hear the response.

By now both Gerard and Mikey were feeling uncomfortable. Gerard, oblivious to many of the details he would soon learn about himself and Mikey, was at a loss to understand what he was talking about. Even Mikey was puzzled - was what Uncle Emmett was talking about going to relate to his, and soon Gerard’s, enrolment at the Paladin Academy? Or was this something completely different?

“This is unexpected,” Emmett drew his lips into a thin line, now uncertain whether to continue, or if he did, how he would.  
“Oh, _this_ is unexpected?” Gerard replied, suddenly animated and growing frustrated by the strange situation. “A man turns up claiming to be our Uncle Emmett. A man that, as far as we’re concerned is dead, mind you. But yeah, not knowing about a family business when our parents never needed to go to work? Yeah, _that’s_ the unexpected thing!”

Emmett’s eyes widened at the outburst; it appeared that the news of his death was as much a surprise to him as the news of his life was to the boys. Exhaling deeply, Emmett nodded.

“I’ll admit, there was one aspect of this that puzzled me and that was this,” as he spoke Emmett drew a DVD from his jacket’s inside pocket and handed it to Gerard. “This is a recording of your parents with a message for you both.”

Gerard and Mikey stared at the disc for several seconds before turning their gaze to the older man. Gerard reached out to take the disc, hesitant at first, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to see their parents again in front of what amounted to a complete stranger. If either he, Mikey or both of them were to become upset, the last thing either of them would want was an audience.

“What does it… do they say?” Gerard asked, his eyes lowered, now staring intently at the disc. Glancing to his right, he saw that Mikey too was merely staring at it, his eyes glazed.  
“I don’t know,” Emmett replied in a soft and kind tone. “The message is for you.”

Gerard closed his eyes and exhaled deeply - still uncertain what to do.

“Do you want to watch it?” He asked Mikey, still sitting quietly next to him.  
“Now?” The younger boy asked quietly.

Gerard pursed his lips as he thought about it. He really wanted to hear what his parents had to say. If only to understand this new mystery of their suddenly alive uncle and their unknown family business.

“Yeah,” he replied, equally quiet but sounding decisive.  
“Okay,” Mikey replied hesitantly; torn between wanting to view it, but fearful it may explain things that Gerard wasn’t prepared for.  
“I can leave the room, if you prefer?” Emmett offered.

Mikey looked up at the man - he knew instantly that the words were for Gerard’s benefit only. Somehow he knew that no matter where the man waited, he would soon know the contents of the disc, purely by them watching.

“I can assure you, Mikey,” he advised. “I will not intrude.”

Chewing his lip, Mikey realised in a moment that Emmett possessed similar powers as Frank, only with infinitely more control and stealth. Gerard turned to look at his brother, noting what he believed was uncertainty in his expression, deciding that Emmett, seemed to be very sensitive to their needs. Perhaps he was someone to be trusted?

“What do you think, Mikes?” Gerard asked.  
“You mean, do we watch it?” Mikey queried.  
“Yeah,” Gerard nodded, opening the plastic wallet. “You want to watch it now?”

Mikey nodded before raising his eyes to look directly at Emmett.

“Is it okay if he stays?” Gerard asked. “I think he has questions now too.”

Mikey inhaled deeply. He really wanted to watch the DVD, but he wanted to view it alone, without even Gerard. Unnerved by the possible content, and the idea that Gerard could hear something that he wasn’t prepared for truly unnerved him. It was then that Emmett spoke again.

“Mikey,” he began kindly. “I doubt you need to worry about the contents of the DVD. They are your parents. What’s to fear? Besides, all fears are controllable, are they not?”

For a few moments, Gerard frowned at the unusual statement before his confusion cleared only seconds later.

“I’ll put it on,” Gerard stated without further consulting Mikey.

Mikey glared at Emmett, frowning deeply - the thought ‘do not manipulate my brother’ racing through his mind several times until he was certain his uncle had heard and understood. The faintest of smiles crossed the elderly man’s lips and Mikey was forced to accept that as an apology even though he had no idea if that was indeed what it was.

The television switched itself on automatically as the DVD loaded and the two boys were confronted by video images of their parents - their father, handsome and charismatic, their mother, beautiful and graceful. Staring with the beginnings of tears in their eyes, the boys watched intently.

“Boys,” their father began, “if you’re watching this, then we’re both dead and your Uncle Emmett has been taking care of you. Gerard, you’re eighteen now and it’s time you learned about the family business.”


	4. Ten Seconds In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gerard and Mikey start to watch the recording

Gerard was confused enough hearing about the so-called ‘family business’ but their father announcing that Emmett had supposedly been looking after them was taking his ability to concentrate to the limit. Already struggling with the little information he had been given so far, Gerard knew he had to clear up that single point before he could go any further. He hoped that Mikey would understand; ideally, he would want answers too. Raising the remote, only mere seconds into the recording, Gerard pressed the pause button.

Emmett raised an eyebrow and Mikey turned a confused glance towards his older brother.

“Gee?”

Mikey asked; his voice subdued by hesitation. Frowning with uncertainty, Mikey was at a loss to know how he could make the question any more specific. If he asked if he was too upset to continue, he would be potentially shaming him in front of what amounted to a complete stranger. Any other question could possibly give away details he himself held.

“I’m okay, Mikes,” he nodded, understanding his brother’s obvious concern. “I… I guess I have questions.”  
“Already?” Emmett asked, his voice pitched slightly higher with apparent incredulity.  
“ _Already_?” Gerard gasped. “I had questions the moment you walked in! But before we go any further I have two big questions that need answering.”

Gerard pondered his thoughts for a few moments before correcting himself.

“Well, technically three, but two are related.”  
“And you believe I can answer these questions?”

Emmett asked the question carefully, tipping his head back slightly and almost peering down his nose at the two boys. It almost appeared either condescending or suspicious. Gerard wasn’t certain which, but he was determined to find out.

“Oh, yeah, you can answer them all right! In fact, you’d better!”

Mikey’s eyes widened slightly as Gerard’s reply emerged sounding angry, almost hostile. The reaction was also not lost on Emmett but neither commented.

“Very well,” Emmett smiled, reaching forward to pick up his coffee, still resting untouched on the table between them. “What do you need to know?”

Gerard exhaled deeply; this felt… he almost grimaced as he thought about it. He wasn’t certain how it felt, but he knew he was uncomfortable and it was now Emmett’s job to reassure them. Plucking his coffee from the table and passing Mikey’s to him, he leaned back and nodded.

“Okay,” Gerard pursed his lips. “First things first. Where have you been for the last seven years?”  
“Why seven? Your parents died two years ago.”  
“I… We are very much aware of when they died,” Gerard replied through gritted teeth. “But as far as we were concerned, you died seven years ago.”  
“Ah,” came the quiet reply.

Taking a sip of coffee, Emmett nodded, resigned to answering but uncertain how it would be received.

“Unfortunately,” he began again, “it was necessary for it to be generally believed that I was dead.”  
“In trouble with the police?” Gerard asked.  
“Hardly!” Emmett replied.

A haughty expression dominating the man’s face, changing the position of many of the lines and creases, even flattening some completely. Once again the pitch of his voice was raised, leaving him sounding genuinely affronted at the suggestion.

“Then why?” Gerard pressed, wanting real answers and ignoring the man’s defensive reaction.  
“It was necessary,” he repeated without explaining anything.  
“Why?” Gerard pressed. “Saying it was necessary doesn’t explain anything.”  
“And I am aware of that,” Emmett’s indignation returned with the cagey response.

Emmett glanced at Mikey and momentarily considered making Gerard, perhaps both of them, forget he had asked the question but he knew as they progressed with the recording that similar, if not identical, questions would emerge. He knew it had been a risk, but it was one he felt he had to take.

“Very well,” he sighed. “It relates to the business, which I assume is your second question. If you watch the video, it will be explained but…”  
“I thought you hadn’t watched it,” Gerard cut in, almost growling with mistrust.  
“I haven’t,” he replied, his curt tone softening as he continued: “I heard it first hand. I was there when it was recorded.”  
“Okay, carry on,” Gerard prompted, gesturing with his hand to emphasise the request.  
“Your parents were in charge of a large organisation that dealt with the training and deployment of gifted spies called the Paladin Society.”

Gerard frowned deeply, all coherent thought ceasing in that moment. It was reasonable to say that of all the things he thought Emmett might say, that was not one of the possibilities he had considered. Not even close.

Leaning back in the couch, Gerard still held the mug poised ready to drink but it was forgotten. His grip softening, the mug started to slip, the hot liquid threatening to slop over the side. Without his awareness, the mug suddenly it righted itself and maintained its position initially independent of Gerard’s grip.

“Spies?” He finally choked out, moving forward to almost drop the mug on the table. “Government spies?”  
“No,” Emmett replied simply. “More freelance really.”  
“Freelance?” Gerard shook his head in disbelief. “You mean traitors or something? Because if you do, there’s no way…!”

Emmett raised his hands in a calming gesture, shaking his head all the while.

“No,” he began. “No, absolutely not!”  
“Then what? Who are they spying for if not our government?”  
“For themselves,” Emmett replied as if the reply was obvious.  
“Why? What do they need to do it for?”  
“The Paladins are gifted,” he explained. “I guess, to put it into terms you would understand, they are superheroes.”  
“What?”

Gerard leapt to his feet, rounding the couch and pacing behind it with sharp jerky movements.

“No!” He shouted, waving his arms to the side. “No, no, no, no, no! This is ridiculous!”  
“But true,” Emmett added calmly before getting to his feet. “Gerard, this is a lot for you to take in and clearly it’s distressing you…”  
“Oh, you think?” Gerard snapped, turning furious eyes toward the old man. “Why would it possibly upset me? This is all perfectly normal You - a man we believe is dead - turn up out of the blue and tell us mom and dad ran a group of spies!”  
“Yes,” the man nodded, “and the academy where they train.”  
“Trainee superheroes! Oh, I’ve heard it all now!”  
“I’m going to leave you to process this. You obviously need some time. I’ll come back tomorrow evening and maybe we can continue?”  
“Yeah,” Gerard pointed a finger towards him. “You do that, and you come with proof that you’re who you say you are or you’re not even getting through that door!”  
“By all means,” Emmett nodded, still speaking calmly, which was serving to infuriate the young man further. “Gerard, Mikey. I’ll see you tomorrow night but I would encourage you to view the recording before then. It will help, I promise you.”

Exasperated, confused and shocked, Gerard was now struggling to even find his voice and Emmett left without a further word from him. Mikey sucked his top lip into his mouth as he pondered the evening’s events. Although the concept of real-life superheroes and the academy in which they trained was not unknown to him, the rest certainly was. He too had a lot to take in and more than that, he felt he had to work out what his reaction should be if it was all new to him. After only a few moment’s consideration, he realised that it practically impossible and by accepting that the role their parents had played was surprising enough, Mikey didn’t need to pretend.

“Well, that was strange,” he finally announced.

At first, the words drew little more than a chuckle from Gerard, but he was soon overtaken by the impossibility and bizarre nature of the conversation. Laughing uncontrollably for several minutes, Gerard flopped back down onto the couch shaking his head in dismay. His head felt empty of all reason and thought.

“I’m… I don’t know how I am,” Gerard sighed. “I just can’t get my head around this. How are you?”

Mikey took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak before merely letting all the air out of his lungs without saying a word.

“I have no idea,” he replied, with a deep shrug restricted somewhat by the couch. Rolling his head to the side, he looked dazedly at Gerard. “I guess I’m confused.”  
“Do you believe him?” Gerard asked.  
“Mom and dad? Spies?” Mikey’s face screwed up with uncertainty. “When did they find the time? And you know, he never actually explained the whole dead thing.”  
“Damn it!” Gerard slapped his hand on the arm of the couch. “He changed the subject! I didn’t even notice.”  
“I guess we…” Mikey paused, glancing at the TV and the paused image. “I guess we have a lot to find out.”  
“What do you want to do?” He asked his younger brother.  
“Well,” Mikey shrugged. “I think we should order the pizzas before it gets late.”

Gerard stared at Mikey; he was replying as if either, the previous conversation was the most normal he had ever had or he was completely overcome and zoning out - a response he at least understood.

“Yeah,” he replied quietly. “Yeah, pizza. Dominos?”  
“Of course!” Mikey looked thoughtful for a moment. “And some chicken. No, a lot of chicken. Double popcorn chicken, wings and some kickers.”  
“Someone’s hungry!” Gerard grinned. “Always.”

Normality. Right now he craved it like air.

*

Frank plopped his tray noisily onto the lunchroom table, a combination of the plastic, the plates and the cutlery rattling against each other drew a deep frown from the young man sitting opposite the chair Frank was now sliding into. A book in his left hand and a fork in his right hand, the student looked up to see who had disturbed his peace.

“Huh!” He rolled his eyes. “I should have know it’d be you.”  
“What?” Frank’s expression was the picture of innocence. “What have I done?”  
“I wondered who would be so annoying and irritating. But, of course, it was you.”  
“You don’t mean that,” Frank grinned, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture.  
“Whatever gave you that idea?”  
“I know you, Ray,” Frank chuckled. “Nothing irritates you, you’re a goddamn saint!”  
“What do you want, Frank?” Ray rolled his eyes - he didn’t think of himself as a saint, but he certainly had the requisite patience.  
“Have you seen Mikey today?” Frank grew serious.

Ray pondered the question for a few moments, placing his book on the table and his fork on the tray as he tried to fill in the gaps between the likely places he might have seen him.

“No,” he finally replied. “Maybe he was late for breakfast, like you?”  
“Oh, don’t be like that!” Frank whined. “I overslept! I didn’t mean to leave you on your own.”  
“I wasn’t complaining,” Ray shook his head, the mass of curls that made up his hair swaying as one.  
“So, Mikey wasn’t here?”  
“No, maybe he ‘ _overslept_ ’ too?” Ray smirked, adding air quotes for emphasis.  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Frank pushed his shoulders back, stiff with indignation.  
“You got high again last night, I take it?”  
“Shhh!” Frank whispered surprisingly loudly, whilst indicating with his hands for Ray to keep his voice down. “You wan’t me to get scorched again?”

Ray scratched his head and looked at Frank with an expression that looked like amused pity.

“You’re kidding yourself if you think Scott doesn’t know,” he chuckled. “Mikey get high with you?”  
“No.”  
“Yes he did.”  
“Why did you ask, then?”  
“Why did you lie?”  
“I didn’t… technically. It was the afternoon and he went home after. You know he goes home most nights.”  
“Oh yeah,” Ray nodded. “So, did he come back? Have you checked his room?”  
“Yeah,” Frank nodded. “He’s not in any of my classes on a Wednesday. I hoped he’d be in here. You know, follow the food.”

Ray frowned; if he wasn’t ill, then where was he? It wasn’t like him to miss classes and certainly not meals and the look on Frank’s face only served to enhance his own concerns.

“Do you think he got home okay?” Ray finally asked.

Frank rubbed his eye as he decided how to answer.

“I don’t know,” he shook his head. “I mean, do you think he could be in any danger?”  
“Wouldn’t we have heard from someone? Ray asked.  
“Who?” Frank waved his arms to the side. “It’s possible that his brother has the academy’s number, but who’d tell us?”  
“You think we should speak to Principal Scott?”

Frank closed his eyes, his shoulders sagged and he sighed deeply. He had had several meetings with the principal already - very few had gone well and some had been painful to say the least. It wasn’t that he was a particularly badly behaved student, but he was just very bad at covering it up. Added to that, when he was caught he admitted everything freely - not out of pride or gloating, but simply that he was honest. If you were honest, you didn’t have to have a good memory. Besides, being caught in a lie would be so much worse than whatever punishment he could expect merely from being found guilty of some infraction. Going voluntarily to Scott’s office, especially after receiving the mild reprimand via Mikey for trying to manipulate Scott’s secretary’s mind, seemed almost suicidal.

“Well?” Ray pressed, unaware of the cold sweat that Frank was currently experiencing.  
“Isn’t there any other way?” He pleaded.

As Ray opened his mouth to speak, an announcement called out across the academy-wide tannoy system.

“Frank Iero and Ray Toro to Principal Scott’s office, immediately, please. Frank Iero and Ray Toro to Principal Scott’s office.”

Frank hung his head as the mechanical sounding voice called him to his doom. Sighing with resignation, Frank pushed his chair back.

“I guess not,” he grumbled.

Ray chuckled at the response. Picking up his book as he rose waiting only a second or two for Frank to do the same, Ray slapped a hand on his friend’s back.

“Come on, I doubt we’re in trouble.”

Frank looked up at him, wondering if he was either naive or correct. After all, the man was a saint - how could they be in trouble?


	5. Explanations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Principal Scott shares his concerns with Frank and Ray explaining details about the Ways that even Gerard and Mikey didn't know

“Boys,” Miss Sherman, Principal Scott’s assistant, called cheerfully through the open door to her office. “Come in.”  
“Good afternoon, Miss Sherman,” Ray smiled as he strolled in.

Frank entered the room immediately behind him and the difference in their demeanour spoke volumes about their experience and expectations. Ray’s airy greeting and casual manner was in sharp contrast to Frank’s response. He appeared nervous, almost furtive and uncomfortable, walking in stiffly and with his eyes focusing on something and nothing on the floor.

“Is everything okay, Frank?” Sherman asked kindly, noting his refusal to make eye-contact.  
“Mm… yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, politely yet still not able to look directly at her.  
“Are you sure?” She pressed.  
“Er…” Frank looked up, catching her gaze despite trying not to. “I’m… uh… I’m sorry about the whole mind thing yesterday. I was really worried about Mikey and thought I had to do something a bit extra to get him an appointment.”

Sherman frowned, not angry, merely disappointed and the expression left Frank feeling wretched.

“You don’t think we have the best interests of our students at heart?” She asked, the sadness in her tone weighing heavy on her lips.

Frank looked up and met her gaze willingly for the first time since entering. His mouth fell open slightly and he paled noticeably as he saw the disappointment in her eyes. He had simply wanted the best for his friend and in doing so had made the all-too-often-made mistake that only he cared for his wellbeing. By trying to ensure he got the appointment by using his powers, he had denied the possibility that both Miss Sherman and Principal Scott would understand the need for such a measure. Frank lowered his eyes once more.

“What did you do this time, Frank?” Ray asked, noting the unusual exchange.

Frank took a deep breath and looked up once more. If he was in trouble, then so be it, but he was sorry and would apologise before he was made to.

“I’m sorry, Miss Sherman,” he began in a tone that sounded so sincere that Sherman was taken by surprise - her lips pursing and her back straightening in the process. “I forget that the people in this school are special in more ways than one. I desperately wanted to look after Mikey and I went about it all wrong.”  
“That’s very sweet of you to say, Frank.” Sherman smiled. “I take it, you believe…”  
“It won’t happen again,” he nodded vigorously in reply, interrupting her.  
“Take a seat, both of you. Principal Scott won’t be long.”

Frank almost shuffled to the nearest seat, pleased to have apologised, but mortified to have caused her such distress. Thinking about the consequences of even well-intentioned actions had never really been high on Frank’s list of priorities. It was something he knew he had to rectify, but it had never been easy for him.

Ray followed close behind, again whispering his early statement, much to Frank’s discomfort.

“What did you do?”

As the pair sat down, Frank inhaled deeply and let it out in a slow extended sigh.

“Look, here’s the thing, right…”  
“Oh, there’s always a thing!” Ray sighed in exasperation.  
“Look, Mikey needed to sort some stuff out, it was important. He was worried.”  
“What about?” Ray queried.  
“His brother,” Frank shrugged.  
“So?” Ray prompted.  
“So… I… uh… I needed to get him an appointment with Principal Scott.”  
“And?” Ray drew out the word, suggesting he knew where the discussion was leading.  
“And I kind of used my powers to make sure of it.”

Frank watched his fingers intently as he repeatedly interlaced and released them while he leaned forward with his elbows resting on his legs.

“You tried to manipulate Miss Sherman’s mind to make her put Mikey in the diary?” Ray asked, his voice even and calm.  
“In a nutshell, yeah,” Frank admitted.  
“Dick!” Ray announced, a derisory expression plastered on his face.

Frank looked up at Ray, astonished at the reply.

“Wow!” Frank’s eyes widened along with his newly returned smile. “Have I finally found the end of your rope?”  
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Ray deadpanned. “You shorten it every day.”

Frank sat upright, leaning slightly away from the older boy merely staring in disbelief.

“Harsh!” He replied.  
“But fair,” Ray nodded, a look of considered and sage wisdom on his face.  
“You can go in now,” Sherman interrupted the exchange, a barely concealed smile gracing her face.

Getting to their feet, the boys headed toward the office, Frank automatically lagging behind his friend, not wanting to be the first one through the door.

To both of their relief, Principal Scott was sitting down and his chroma was glistening, almost sparkling, a brilliant ice blue. A faint crackle could be heard as flecks of the chroma changed colour momentarily. Frank eyed the principal carefully, looking for signs he might be angry, certain that the colour change was in response to seeing him. He need not have worried as the faint crackle and flicker of colour was perfectly normal for him, even while in a good mood. It simply didn’t occur to Frank that he had never seen Scott in a good mood.

“Thank you for coming, boys,” Scott greeted them. “Please, sit down. I hope I didn’t interrupt your lunch?”

Frank and Ray merely glanced at each other, neither certain they wanted to answer.

“I suspect I have,” he sighed. “I will let Mr Turner know to serve you again when we’re finished here. Is that okay?”  
“Yes, sir, thank you,” Ray nodded.  
“Thanks, sir,” Frank replied simultaneously.  
“Now I don’t want to keep you guessing, or even believing you’re in any way in trouble,” he began, trying hard not to allow the area shaped like a head turn towards Frank as he spoke. “Although there is some concern on the horizon that I will need your help with.”

Frank and Ray both frowned, at the same time concerned and confused by the statement. Despite their age differences, both boys were in their first year of the academy, with entry to the establishment being based on when your power first emerged. It was unusual for students to be allowed to enter part way through a year and Mikey had been puzzled about the academy’s sudden interest in his brother, even if his power was emerging, and had confided as much to his friends who were equally perplexed. Equally, Frank and Ray were unaware of the situation unfolding in the Way brothers’ home, but were about to discover for themselves that their friend was more than a mere student.

“I’m going to share something with you now that nobody else in the academy knows,” Scott began, “and I would like it to remain that way. Can I rely on you?”  
“Yes, Sir,” Ray frowned, concerned about what was to be explained.  
“Sir,” Frank cocked his head to one side. “There are a lot of students and faculty here with the power to read minds. I might be able to protect that information against some but not all and Ray?” Frank spared his friend a worried glance. “I’m not sure he’d even know how to.”  
“Point taken,” Scott nodded thoughtfully. “I will, with your permission, place a barrier around this conversation so no one here can find it. But be aware that it only works within the confines of the academy.”

Both boys nodded, wondering what could possibly require that much protection and more to the point, why were they being given information no one else had?

“Sir?” Ray almost certainly spoke for both of them. “We’re freshmen and… well, I mean… what’s so special about us that we get told…” Ray gestured with his hand, “whatever this is?”

Scott nodded, his chroma flickering ever so slightly, almost to white and back to ice blue.

“When I explain, you will understand why you have been chosen and why it’s important that you know.”

Ray nodded, content to wait for the explanation.

“The Paladin Academy was established twenty six years ago, as training ground for those with special abilities. Previously, when individuals powers emerged, it was often a very distressing time for them. They found it hard to both cope with and develop their powers. Often, the powers went misused and it was the responsibility of an organisation known as the Paladin Society to find the person misusing their power and deal with them. This may have taken the form of education or in extreme cases, binding or removal of the power.”  
“That’s possible?” Frank gasped.

If Scott had lips he may well have pursed them as he pondered how to answer. As it was, the two boys remained unaware that Scott was being somewhat scant with the details.

“In a sense, yes,” he replied. “It is not an easy or pleasant process. Some of those misusing their powers were never fully dealt with or in fact found a way to reinstate their powers, going deep undercover to avoid detection. These individuals are still at large, still misusing their powers and must be stopped at all costs.”

“Why are you telling us?” Frank asked, his eyes narrowed. “You said we’d understand, but I don’t.”  
“Neither do I,” Ray added.  
“The leaders of the Paladin Society were Mikey and his brother, Gerard’s parents. They were also the ones responsible for creating the Academy.”  
“Mikey never told us!” Frank’s eyes widened, somewhat annoyed that his closest friend in the academy had not mentioned something so important.  
“Mikey doesn’t know,” Scott replied immediately.

He watched patiently as the two boys took in the information, before continuing.

“That is, until now,” he sighed. “It has come to my attention that Mikey and Gerard have been provided with the information that will explain the existence of this academy and their parents’ life work as… essentially gifted vigilantes and leading a network of others in a similar position. Neither of the boys know enough to navigate this possibly overwhelming news. Also, I am aware that at least three of those who would use their powers against us have banded together. I have no more information than that at the moment but I am concerned for Gerard and Mikey’s safety. As I’m sure you know, Mikey did not return this morning for classes and I have been unable to contact him.”  
“You think they’re in danger?” Ray asked, a look of deep concern settling in his eyes.  
“I do,” Scott nodded again. “I think we may all be in danger. These people, I believe two men and a woman, know a great deal about us and their powers are significant.”  
“What do you want us to do?” Ray asked.  
“I cannot insist, I wouldn’t either. This is something I will ask, but there is no requirement to do it and certainly neither a punishment or any negative response if you refuse. I would like you to go to Mikey and Gerard’s house and return them here.”  
“Both of them?” Ray checked.  
“Indeed, both of them,” Scott replied instantly, his chroma briefly flashing dark blue as he spoke. “They cannot fall into enemy hands.”

Ray and Frank found themselves merely staring blankly for a few moments as the enormity of the request sank in. It was Ray who was the first to take in the details and formulate two questions.

“Why us? Why not security?”  
“Simply that you are Mikey’s friends. He will let you in to the house, he won’t suspect anything from you. Also, if we send security, it could alert those that we know are watching them.”  
“Okay,” Ray nodded, accepting the explanation. “But, if they’re so powerful, what can we do to protect ourselves? Like I said before, we’re only freshmen. We’re working on our powers, but I take it these guys have years on us?”  
“Many years, yes. But I’m hoping that the element of surprise will be sufficient that you won’t attract any attention. That said, I will equip you with a device that will bring you back here immediately when activated.”  
“All of us?” Ray asked.

A small plastic box left the shelf on the wall to the right of Ray and slowly made its way over to Scott’s desk before settling in front of his name plate between the two boys.

“In this box you’ll find the remote. Merely flip the cover open and press the button and it will immediately return all four of you to the transport room. However, you do all have to be wearing those pins. Do you understand? Anyone not wearing one will not be transported.”  
“What if we hold onto them?” Frank asked, expecting the possibility of an argument.  
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Scott advised cautiously. “If you’re wearing the pins, the transport will be able to distinguish you and nothing will go wrong. If any one is not wearing a pin but is even touching one of you as you transport, they will merge with you. It will be quite irreversible.”

Frank swallowed thickly at the news. Paling, he summed up the warning to make sure he understood.

“So, we all wear a pin and we transport. If say we get attacked and someone is holding onto me…”  
“Do not transport, yes.”  
“What if they have a pin?” Ray asked. “Or… I guess I mean, will it only work if there are four of us?”  
“No, it will transport whoever is wearing pins but I doubt very much that anyone else would have one. This is new technology.” Scott confirmed.  
“But it does work, yeah? I mean we’re not going to arrive back with our legs where our arms should be?”

Scott emitted a surprisingly light laugh.

“As amusing as that sounds, Frank, it won’t happen. Well… it shouldn’t.”  
“What!” Frank leaned forward, his eyes wide.  
“I’m joking, it’s perfectly safe!”

Scott laughed again, his chroma sparkling with iridescence as it each individual fleck that made it up cycled through a random range of pastel colours. As it settled once more to a pale ice blue, Scott grew serious once more.

“As I said, this is not something I can reasonably ask you to do and it is entirely your decision.”

Ray and Frank turned to look at each other. No words were spoken but a conversation appeared to take place purely with their eyes. After a few moments, both of them nodded firmly.

“Do we go now?” Ray asked.  
“That’s entirely up to you,” Scott replied. “You can either choose to use the regular transport or to use the remote. If you do, it will take you straight to the Ways’ house.”

Ray reached into the box and fished out the contents. Handing Frank a pin and attaching one to his own shirt, he waited until Frank looked up and nodded before opening the cover on the remote.

“Good luck, boys and trust no one.”

Pressing the button, both Frank and Ray disappeared from the office amid a small spark of light.


	6. This is How I Disappear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gerard and Mikey try to make sense of the DVD

**Earlier that morning**

Very much in keeping with the rest of the house, the furniture in both Gerard and Mikey’s bedrooms was largely either antique or at least had that appearance. Both of their parents had been keen collectors of antiques and art and had filled the house in a late-Victorian and early-Edwardian style. Neither of the boys had strong feelings with regard to the decor and neither particularly liked nor objected to the style of the furniture - certainly not enough to replace it. However on the relatively few occasions that something either broke or a new item was needed they tended to choose a piece with a modern flavour yet didn’t jar too much with its surroundings.

Mikey rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned, his mouth gaping and contorting while he stretched his arms expansively and the joints of his spine crackled with displeasure at being asked to move after the night’s rest. It was early, too early and as far as Mikey was concerned this particular hour had no business being light but he had something important on his mind and it needed to be done early. Dressing simply in a pair of black jeans and an old faded band shirt, Mikey yawned and stretched again, determined to wake himself up enough to creep past Gerard’s room without stumbling. His brother was a world-class sleeper so he wasn’t particularly worried but if he wasn’t careful, today would be the day that he woke him merely by treading on a squeaky floorboard or kicking some unnoticed object. Shaking out his arms and legs, he nodded to himself, satisfied that he was awake - at least awake enough to get downstairs. Coffee would do the rest.

Moving slowly and carefully, Mikey almost tip-toed towards the stairs. Passing Gerard’s bedroom door, he moved with even greater stealth as he noticed that the door was very slightly ajar and was worried that any sound would carry more easily. He grimaced as he edged forward, barely daring to breathe until he reached the staircase. Heading down he picked up seed, certain that the difficult part was over; the house was very large and once he installed himself in the living room he was sure he would be far enough away to run no risk of waking his brother. On his mind was a particular task - watching the DVD before Gerard so that he could be certain that he wouldn’t discover anything too surprising before he had a chance to explain things himself.

Exhausted after the pizza, chicken and two movies, the boys had opted to leave watching the recording until the next morning. There had been a brief, half-hearted disagreement about Mikey skipping school to stay at home to watch it but Mikey had been insistent that he didn’t want to leave Gerard on his own all day. Gerard had put up a minimal objection; in truth, he wanted the company too, but mostly the news had been quite shocking leaving him concerned for Mikey’s wellbeing and he wanted to keep him close by.

Even though they had barely seen ten seconds of the recording, Emmett’s explanation had been enough to worry Mikey and he was now venturing down to review the tape alone, in case he needed to prepare Gerard prior to their uncle’s arrival. It wasn’t until he rested his hand on the handle to the living room door that he realised the TV was on with the volume lowered. Mikey held his breath as he heard his father talking. Mikey’s initial reaction was to feel hurt that Gerard was watching it without him, but he immediately checked himself given that was exactly what he was planning to do and almost certainly for similar reasons - protection of the other. His second thought was to use his powers to switch off the DVD or turn off the volume, purely for amusement value. Taking a deep breath, Mikey realised that he had been spending far too much time with Frank.

Going with his third thought, Mikey pushed the door open slowly so as not to startle Gerard and also to convey that he was not angry. To his dismay, it had the effect of Gerard believing he was upset and feeling betrayed. Pausing the DVD, Gerard turned a guilty expression towards his brother and frowned deeply, raising a hand to his mouth.

“I… I’m sorry, Mikey,” Gerard began, his pitch higher than normal and speaking quickly. “I just wanted…”  
“To protect me,” Mikey smiled and nodded. “I know, that’s why I’m here but you beat me to it.”  
“You wanted to protect me?” Gerard asked, pointing to himself with surprise. “But why? I mean…”

Gerard paused, he wasn’t certain how to phrase what he wanted to say. In fact, the more he tried to think about it, the less he knew exactly what he wanted to say.

“How much have you watched?” Mikey asked, uncertain how to respond.

Gerard turned back to look at the TV and in particular the indicator that showed how far along the recording was.

“Almost all of it, to be honest,” Gerard sighed. “I’m going to have to watch it again anyway. It’s a lot to take in.”  
“What have you found out so far?” Mikey asked, entering the room as Gerard waved him in and poured a mug of coffee from the pot sitting on the tray on the coffee table. “You were expecting me?” Mikey asked, surprised to see the extra mug there already.  
“Yeah,” Gerard’s pitch rose and frowned again, puzzled by his own thoughts. “I don’t know why or how, but I knew you’d be here soon. Brother thing?” Gerard shrugged.

Mikey turned a bleak expression towards Gerard, uncertain what to say. He wanted to tell him everything he knew but he was also aware that it would be something of a shock for his brother and remembering his own reaction to being informed about his powers, he didn’t want to witness the same response from Gerard.

*

_**Eight Months Earlier:** _

_Mikey turned his head slowly to examine the room: roughly thirty feet square with no obvious entrance. An insipid non-threatening beige paint covered the walls, the ceiling either off-white or merely dirty. The scuffed floor was made up of marble-effect sage green tiles and despite the shine from what appeared to be a recent polishing, they were old and a little dingy. The collection of desks all facing a single one at what, Mikey assumed, must be the head of the room gave it a classroom feel, but there were no books, chalkboard or any other writing surface to be seen. The innocuous appearance would normally have removed any sense of danger or threat but the fact that Mikey had no memory of how he had come to be there, or indeed where ‘there’ was introduced the element of fear. Mikey could feel his heart beating too fast for comfort, his breathing quicker and noisier than usual. A sheen of sweat had formed on his forehead with the rest of his body feeling somewhat clammy. If he could have found a door - a task he had already failed at - he would have tried to leave long before now. As it was, he had been there at least ten minutes, but it had felt like hours and his anxiety had built to the point that he was beginning to feel lightheaded._

_Finally a swishing noise drew his attention and in the far corner of the room a door appeared as a section of wall slid to the side. A tall man with dark brown wavy hair and carrying a clipboard walked in; he looked to be in his thirties and Mikey’s anxiety grew heightened as he realised that he had no idea who this man was or what he wanted._

_“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting,” the man began as the door closed behind him, disappearing into the wall once more._

_Mikey was almost unaware of what he had said, merely staring past him, longing for an escape route to remain visible to him. As the man walked closer, Mikey’s nervousness grew and he was clearly shaking._

_“You… er…” the man began frowning at the scared boy. “You know why you’re here? Yeah?”_

_Mikey merely shook his head, robbed of speech by his tightening throat._

_“Oh, this is unusual,” the man rolled his eyes. “So… um… do you know where you are?”_

_Mikey shook his head again._

_The man drew in a deep breath and he regarded the terrified boy with an expression of sympathy mixed with annoyance._

_“Okay, there’s no need to be afraid. You’ve been brought here because of your talents and…”_

_Mikey’s eyes widened and he pushed his seat back so forcibly that it fell clattering to the floor. Backing away, he finally found his voice._

_“You lay a finger on me and I’ll bite it off!” Mikey shouted, holding his arms in front of him and standing semi-crouched in a defensive stance. “My brother’ll be looking for me, you won’t get away with this!”_

_The man’s eyes widened and he found himself backing away from the terrified boy, his arms raised in a mirror image of Mikey’s._

_“No, no, you’ve got it all wrong!” He cried with alarm. “This is a school. Just a school.”_   
_“I don’t remember how I got here. You drugged me?”_   
_“No, look, this has obviously been badly handled. You’re supposed to know about us. Didn’t your guardian explain this to you?”_   
_“Gee?” Mikey narrowed his eyes and his brow creased in confusion._

_The man glanced down at the clipboard for a few moments before looking back towards Mikey._

_“Emmett Rush?” He prompted with a questioning expression._   
_“Oh,” Mikey replied, much of the fear racing out of him leaving him suddenly drained. “Uncle Emmett? He died.”_   
_“Died?” The man pulled a face and scratched his head. “That’s strange. Er, okay, erm… but you know about your powers, yes?”_

_Mikey paled once more and merely stared back in response, barely able to think let alone respond._

_“You don’t, do you?”_

_The man appeared to visibly sag at the realisation - no wonder the boy was terrified._

_“So you’ve never heard of the Paladin Academy of Research and Training?”_

_Mikey shook his head and the man rubbed his forehead._

_“Okay, this is going to take some time, do you want some water?”_

_Mikey nodded and the man pressed a button on what appeared to be a small pager attached to his belt._

_“I’ve called my secretary, she’ll be here soon. Right, my name is Deputy Principal Amande and you’ve been signed up to attend pretty much from birth. You and your brother Gerard.”_   
_“What did you mean when you said powers?” Mikey asked, his voice tentative and quiet._   
_“You’re telekinetic,” Amande tipped his head. “You didn’t know? You never moved anything without touching it?”_   
_“I thought we had helpful ghosts,” Mikey shrugged._   
_“That theory has been tested by the Research Department,” Amande smiled and nodded. “It has happened, but mostly not.”_   
_“I think I’m going to be sick,” Mikey frowned, his pale complexion greying as the reality of the situation became more apparent to him._

_Amande’s eyes widened but as he scanned the room for some sort of receptacle he realised it was too late. He made a mental note that when it was Gerard’s time, they would have to tread much more carefully. How these boys had reached their teens oblivious to their abilities was beyond him but there would definitely be questions - not least of which would surround the so-called death of Emmett Rush._

*

“Come on,” Gerard began again. “Let’s watch it from the start, together.”

Mikey offered a half-smile; Gerard didn’t seem too fazed by what he had watched so far. It seemed hopeful that the DVD didn’t contain much that he didn’t already know. What had concerned him most, in fact, had been Uncle Emmett’s arrival. Why hadn’t he given them the DVD earlier? Did he know that Gerard’s powers were emerging now? If he did, then surely he knew that Mikey’s already had but he had stayed away. What had he meant by saying he needed to be thought of as dead? By whom? Was he in any danger? Were they now that he had reappeared?

“Mikey!”

Gerard’s repeated call filtered through the fog that had clouded Mikey’s mind as he considered some of his many questions. Blinking as if waking from a deep sleep, Mikey turned a blank expression towards Gerard before it softened with a flush of pink as he realised that Gerard had been speaking to him and he hadn’t heard a word.

“It’s ready,” Gerard pointed to the screen.  
“Sorry, Gee, yeah, let’s find out what’s going on.”

The two boys settled back in the couch with their coffees as the images of their parents flickered to life on the screen. It had been a painful and difficult two years and as much as they had both grieved and learned to take care of themselves, both boys missed their parents desperately. They had shared an enviably close bond with their parents. Their wealth had afforded them a lack of a necessity to work meaning they had much greater time to spend with the children and they had adored them. In return, Gerard and Mikey both loved their parents deeply and their sudden deaths had been traumatic.

In many ways it was wonderful for the boys to be able to see and hear their parents again but they couldn’t help feeling somewhat betrayed to discover their secret life. Emmett had referred to them as gifted spies, even superheroes, but they had called themselves vigilantes. Either way, to Gerard it seemed implausible at best and outlandish at worst.

“Do you believe it?” Gerard finally asked as they DVD drew to a close for the second time.  
“Well,” Mikey began carefully, “I doubt they’re lying.”  
“What do you think they meant about abilities? Do you think they’re referring to this Academy place? Some sort of spy school?”  
“I got the feeling it was more than that,” Mikey exhaled a deep sigh; he had to say something. “Look, Gee…”

As he began again, a loud knock at the front door stopped him. Glancing at his watch to see the time was already almost one o’clock, Gerard beamed with delight.

“They’re here!” He cried, leaping to his feet in one deft and fluid motion.  
“Who’s here?” Mikey replied, puzzled by the response.  
“No! I ordered a pair of lightsabers for us. A surprise!” he grinned. “They’re being delivered today. That must be them.”

Mikey’s smile formed quickly and spread across his face. The news was exciting enough but Gerard’s enthusiasm was infectious. Pouring them both another mug of coffee each, Mikey waited as Gerard almost ran to the door. The corridor was long and out of view from where Mikey was seated, but even though he couldn’t see what was happening, a feeling of dread sunk deep into the pit of his stomach. At first uncertain, Mikey rose from the couch. He couldn’t say why but something didn’t feel right - it was a new and uncomfortable sensation and he could no longer ignore it. Something inside his head was screaming at him to check on Gerard. Walking briskly into the hallway he broke into a run as the door stood open and Gerard was nowhere to be seen. Reaching the door, Mikey pulled up sharply gasping with shock as he almost ran into Ray and Frank, both displaying expressions of wide-eyed concern and seemed shaken.

“What are you doing here?” Mikey asked urgently. “Did you see Gee?”

Frank threw his arm out to indicate the driveway; he was breathless and seemed to be panicking.

“Two men just dragged him into a car,” he gabbled. “We couldn’t stop them!”

Mikey stared blankly up the driveway; the car was already gone. It was a moment or two before he realised that Ray was supporting him and both he and Frank were pushing him back inside the house.

“No!” Mikey cried. “No, we have to do something!”  
“We will,” Frank replied between gasps for breath as he bordered on hyperventilating with shock.  
“But first we need to figure out what the hell just happened,” Ray added, more subdued but with a glazed expression, still clearly shocked.


	7. Dead!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As if Gerard being kidnapped wasn't enough of a shock...

Inside the large and palatial black car, Gerard was refusing to sit still. He was used to cars of this size, the Way brothers had their own limousine and chauffeur, although able to drive now himself, Gerard had purchased a small unobtrusive car to run errands and go to school. This car was not dissimilar to their own and he was confused. Yes, it was pretty clear he had been kidnapped, but why? The usual reason - money - seemed unlikely as whoever had him could obviously afford a luxurious car. Fleetingly he considered that it had been rented so it didn’t seem out of place entering the grounds, but certainly a generic delivery van would have worked just as well. No, whoever had him was wealthy. What possible reason could a wealthy person have for kidnapping another wealthy person? He had no enemies that he was aware of, no political leanings. He paled; it could only be because of the DVD and its contents, but how could they possibly know?

The car’s driver section was sealed off with a dark screen sporting a two-tone green logo in the centre that looked vaguely familiar to Gerard. He couldn’t see who was driving but yelled loudly for help, desperately hoping the driver had a conscience. With him in the passenger section sat two men and a woman who were struggling to contain him and shouting at him to sit still and keep quiet. With all his strength, Gerard lashed out for the third time, his elbow connecting sharply and painfully with the side of one man’s head, close to his eye. Launching himself towards the door as the man fell backwards against the seat, Gerard scrabbled with the door latch. Pulling fruitlessly on the handle, Gerard’s eyes widened as he realised the doors were locked. Attempting to press the button to lower the window, he cried out in frustration as not only did the window not move, but as he slapped his hand against it, trying to attract attention, the window darkened significantly, blocking out the view of the interior from the outside.

Feeling hands on him once more, Gerard struggled furiously as he was dragged back to the middle seat between the man he had elbowed on one side and the woman on the other.

“Let go of me!” Gerard yelled, both furious and scared. “Let me out of here!”

About to repeat his actions but on the other side, the man he hit managed to grab his shoulders and hold him still while woman placed a finger gently in the centre of Gerard’s forehead. It had just taken a moment, but the result was both significant and immediate. Falling still and silent while remaining conscious, it was as if every muscle in his body was instantly unable to function. It wasn’t that he felt weak or even restrained in some way, it was that he simply couldn’t move. His entire body, including his mouth and larynx were totally useless yet somehow he remained upright. All this had occurred simply by the touch of a finger on his forehead and he was terrified. What kind of power was that? In that moment, he knew that what his parents had said on the DVD and what their Uncle Emmett had been trying to tell him and Mikey, it had something to do with what was happening to him now. Only his eyes retained movement and even though even the muscles of his face were fixed and unmoving, Gerard somehow managed to appear terrified.

The three adult occupants of the car sighed heavily and relaxed into their seats.

“Thanks, Belle,” the man sitting opposite nodded before leaning back in his seat and cracking his knuckles.  
“Easy, you said! That was like trying to hold onto an electric eel!” The man Gerard had elbowed complained, his tone dripping with bitter venom. “And you could have helped!” He added, infuriated that the man sitting opposite had made no attempt to assist them.  
“Stop complaining, Mason!” Belle responded with a chuckle as she noticed the early flare of a bruise forming near the man’s eye. “We got him, didn’t we?”  
“Yeah, but what about the other one?” Mason replied sourly.

Gerard found the strength to force his larynx to make the slightest of sounds, little more than a thin whine at the words and raising a laugh from the man he had struck.

“Aww, frightened are you?” He taunted him. “Not much you can do about it, is there?”  
“He’s already done more than you’d be able to manage,” the man opposite raised an eyebrow.

Leaning forward toward Gerard, still sandwiched between Mason and Belle, he cocked his head in a gesture of curiosity.

“I wonder, young man, how did you make that sound?” His eyes narrowed as he considered the sheer effort and strength it would take to fight against Belle’s paralysis power.  
“So he made a sound? So what?” Mason complained.

Reaching across Gerard, Belle placed a finger on Mason’s forehead, instantly paralysing him in the same way Gerard had been.

“You try making a sound then,” she scoffed, sitting back, exhausted from the use of her power twice in so short a time.  
“Was that necessary?” The other man sighed at the aggravated woman, now relaxing and enjoying the new level of quiet within the car.  
“Oh, be quiet, Anders! It’ll only last a couple of minutes with him,” she sighed. “I used most of it on the kid.”  
“Yes,” Anders sat back in the seat once more, thoughtful and curious. “I saw and yet he could still fight it.”  
“A tiny, tiny little sound!” She rolled her eyes, breathing heavily as she recovered.  
“Yes, but a sound, nonetheless.”

Anders kept his eyes on Gerard as he sat back in his seat once more, tapping his fingers together as he pondered what seemed to him to be impossible. He had had his doubts up until now, but it seemed that Gerard was powerful, even if he didn’t realise it. More importantly to him powerful equated to dangerous - control the power, control the danger.

*

Mikey was hyperventilating. Ray was trying to encourage him to sit down, guiding him gently to the couch and speaking to him slowly in a soft voice. He heard none of what Ray was saying over the sound of his own breathing and Frank’s worried, often panicked, questions.

“Mikey, come through, sit down. Try to breathe, you’ll be fine. Gerard will too. We’ll find him, Mikey. Please just take slow breaths,” Ray tried hard to keep his own stomach churning turmoil from reaching his voice, but Frank wasn’t helping.  
“Is this what Scott was talking about? Are we too late? What are we gonna do? Ray?”

Ray paused while still on route to the living room, his brow creasing more with every step. Growing increasingly agitated, Ray felt an almost physical pull in two, possibly even three directions. He wanted to calm Mikey, he wanted to yell at Frank but most of all he wanted to turn back time so they could have arrived even five minutes earlier. At the moment, only the second of those options seemed possible but not practical.

“Frank,” he growled as quietly as he could through a clenched jaw, a hand trying to smooth the deep ruts in his forehead without success. “Go and put some coffee on.”

He had to remove one of the obstacles to quiet and this seemed the only option. He just prayed that Frank himself would be calm enough to hear him.

“But, Ray, I… I…”  
“Frank,” Ray exhaled deeply as he felt Mikey begin to sag I his arms. “Coffee, water, roll a joint, I don’t care, just do something… not here.”

Frank’s face crumpled as he stared at his friends. Mikey appeared as if he were about to drop and he had never seen Ray stressed before. In less than a moment he realised he was making things worse instead of better and he took a long deep breath as he nodded. Thank goodness for Ray Calm-in-a-Crisis Toro.

“Coffee,” he nodded, all his previous panic being replaced in an instant with determined resolve.  
“Second door on the left.” Ray added in a gentle tone.

Seeing the creases fall from Ray’s forehead and a smile grace his lips before Frank turned away brought a relieved expression to his own face. Now, the basic information they had received during the few lectures they had attended on Situation Management was finally coming back to him and he found his head clearing with surprising speed. There seemed to be the time and ability to do anything now and with the briefest of nods he raced towards the kitchen following Ray’s instructions.

It was as if Mikey simply didn’t have the strength to maintain the panic attack he had fallen into, or perhaps he too was recalling their lectures and allowing their training to take over. Whatever the reason, he was no longer hyperventilating, but nevertheless, felt dazed and tired as Ray led him slowly into the living room. Flopping down on the couch, Mikey looked up, a glazed and bewildered expression fixed on his face.

“How did you know?” He asked.  
“We didn’t,” Ray replied, settling down next to Mikey, but perched on the edge of the seat so he could face him. “It was just a coincidence.”  
“But you told him where it was, you gave him directions.”  
“Oh!” Ray laughed at the misunderstanding. “That? The doors were open. You know I can bend light. Seeing around corners is sort of ‘Light Bending 101’.”

Mikey nodded and rolled his eyes, silently berating himself for not realising.

“You thought I meant about Gee?”  
“Yeah,” Ray nodded, wondering how to even explain their presence now in light of what had happened. “We… we’re…” he began only to be interrupted by both Frank and Mikey.

“There was already a pot on,” Frank announced, entering with a tray containing a coffee pot, a carton of milk and three mugs.

_Of course there was!_ Ray thought, almost laughing. This was the Ways’ house after all - he had hear many stories from Mikey about his brother and almost all of them involved coffee.

“Why are you here?” Mikey asked. “Scott’s gonna be mad when he finds out you’ve skipped classes!”  
“Ha!” Frank laughed as he placed the tray on the small table in front of the couch. “When did you ever hear about Ray skipping a class?”  
“Hey!” Ray frowned in reply; objecting to Frank’s intimation that his flawless attendance record was somehow a bad thing.  
“No offence,” Frank grinned.  
“Yeah, right!”  
“Scott knows you’re here?” Mikey asked. “So you knew that was going to happen?”  
“He thought you might be in danger,” Frank replied, scratching his head as he thought about how to put it into words. It had made perfect sense when Scott had explained but now that he had to, it all sounded a bit strange to him.  
“Why? And why Gee?”

Frank poured some coffee for all of them, keeping his eyes down as he busied himself and leaving the explanation to Ray.

“It’s got something to do with your parents,” Ray finally spoke. “They set up the Paladin Society and the academy.”  
“They… What?” Mikey looked up at Ray, shocked at the revelation and not knowing what else to say.  
“Scott told us, he said you didn’t know,” Ray nodded. “I don’t know why. I mean, it’s not like you don’t know about the academy.”

Mikey frowned as he pondered recent events - Uncle Emmett, the DVD, their parents, the academy and now Gerard’s kidnapping. He found himself shaking his head slowly without even realising it.

“There must be a reason,” he mused.  
“Scott said that he’s found out that three people that have powers have banded together to bring down the academy and society,” Frank added.  
“How does he know?” Mikey asked.

Frank and Ray both began to reply but paused as the words failed them. Looking at each other Ray spoke first.

“I don’t remember him saying how he found out.”  
“He said something about finding out, but he didn’t say how.” Frank shook his head.  
“I didn’t think to ask. He said that you’d been given some information that explained everything,” Ray added.  
“We got a DVD of our parents telling us about the so-called family business where they ran a group of undercover spies that stopped secrets falling into enemy hands.”  
“So, a government thing?” Frank asked.  
“Apparently not, or well, at least not officially.”  
“So what was Scott talking about?” Frank asked.  
“Well, he was right about some of it, I mean, someone took Gerard. That wasn’t made up,” Ray’s forehead creased once more. “Mikey, can we watch the DVD?”  
“How will that get Gee back? Mikey replied eager to do more than just talk.  
“I think the more we know the better,” Ray nodded to emphasise his words.

Mikey glanced at Frank who handed him a mug of coffee.

“I think Ray’s right, we need to know what’s going on before we run headlong into something we don’t understand.”  
“Situation Management,” Mikey nodded as if the words alone were a comfort. “Okay, let’s watch it.”

Picking up the remote, Mikey pressed play and all three settled into the deep comfortable couch. As the DVD began, Mikey’s eyes narrowed; something looked subtly different from the times he had watched it before but he couldn’t quite place what it was. His curiosity was to be initially sated within the first few seconds but it only served to open a whole raft of questions for all of them.

“Mikey,” Mr Way began, “now that you’re alone, we can tell you more about our history and what might be happening now. We couldn’t say more with Gerard there because we didn’t want him to find out like this, but as you’re in the academy already we hope this will make sense to you.”  
“What the fuck…!” Mikey’s eyes widened to the point that the white of his cornea was clearly visible around the hazel orbs that coloured the centre.  
“Watch your mouth, Mikey!” Mr Way snapped. “Just because we’re dead, it doesn’t mean you can swear like that in front of us.”

Mikey paled, even Frank and Ray paled.

“What is going on?” The words stumbled slowly from his mouth, almost as if each word were a separate sentence.  
“Take a deep breath, sweetie, I know this is strange.” Mrs Way replied softly. “Sit back, drink some coffee and we’ll tell you what we know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi lovely readers!
> 
> Well, another chapter of what is one of the weirdest things I've ever written, lol! I hope you like it!
> 
> Sas xo


	8. I Never Told You What I Do For a Living

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don and Donna Way explain what they know

“Dad, what’s going on? And…” he paused, still amazed at the situation in which he found himself. “It’s awesome to see you guys and… and speak to you.”  
“For us too, sweetie,” Donna Way smiled kindly. “Keep this DVD, it’s your way to be able to contact us.”  
“How come we’ve only just been given it then?” Mikey pouted, thinking about the previous two years during which he had, on numerous occasions, longed to speak to them.  
“Two reasons,” Don replied, his tone either firm or troubled, Mikey couldn’t be certain which. “Mikey, this DVD is merely a window for you to reach us. The fact remains that we are gone in every other real and physical sense. You had to have time to adjust to that, to grieve.”  
“And I see you have your friends from the Academy with you,” Donna Way added. “That’s good,” she nodded. “I’m glad you have support right now.”

Mikey, indeed all of them, felt shaken by the fact that a recording of Mikey’s parents was both aware and responding to situations in the present. Each of them reacted differently in some aspects, but all felt somewhat confused and even uncomfortable.

“What’s the other reason?” Mikey asked, turning a brief scowl towards Frank, who had dropped the question directly into his mind. “I was going to ask,” he hissed towards his friend, who threw up his hands in a defensive apology.  
“The other reason is more practical,” Don continued. “Emmett couldn’t come out of hiding.”

Ray shifted on the sofa, his eyes looking away from the screen and his expression the very picture of discomfort.

“Mikey, this sounds pretty personal,” he began. “Shouldn’t we leave you to watch at least this part on your own?”

Frank turned an astonished and irritable glare toward the older boy.

“Ray!” He hissed under his breath. “I wanna watch…”

Slowly, both Ray, Mikey and even Mr and Mrs Way turned their heads to look at Frank. Swallowing thickly, he began to concentrate hard on finding something for his hands to do. Scratching his ear, then his leg, interlacing his fingers and finally pushing them between his knees, hunching forward and trying not to make eye-contact with anyone.

“Frank?” Ray asked in a soft tone.

Frank finally glanced up, still hunching his shoulders, his face was contorted into a deeply apologetic frown with a brow so creased it resembled a recently ploughed field.

“Sorry,” he finally whispered. “I’ll admit, I want to know what’s going on too! This is freaky!” He added, his voice adopting a shrill tone. “But I don’t know what might be important later and if we’re gonna risk our lives, I want to know stuff!”

The conversation paused for a few brief moments until the silence was broken by Don Way.

“Risk your lives?” He asked, his expression creased with concern.  
“I mean, I’ll do it, don’t worry. You know, for Mikey, but I think we all want to know what we’re up against. You know… situation management.” Frank replied with a shrug.  
“What do you need to risk your lives for?” Don pressed. “What’s happened?”  
“You don’t know?” Ray gasped as he looked first at the TV then at Mikey.

Mikey turned a pale, worried, but somehow determined expression towards his parents.

“Gerard’s been kidnapped,” he replied, noting the audible gasp from his mother but his dad’s response was more unexpected.

Don Way’s face reddened as he tensed with fury. The boys watched intently as they saw his knuckles whiten as his now clenched fist slammed down onto the arm of the chair in which his dad was sitting. Mikey took in a sharp inhalation as he saw the supporting strut of the wooden arm crack and almost split under the force of the blow. His dad either had super strength, was angry beyond measure or both.

“Who took him?” He growled through gritted teeth.  
“We… we don’t know,” Mikey replied. “It just happened. He went to the door, thinking it was a delivery and they took him.”  
“They?” Donna questioned. “Did you see them?”  
“Frank and I did, sir,” Ray replied. “We caught a glimpse of them as they were forcing him into their car.”  
“What was the car?” Don asked urgently.  
“It was a black limo, looked like a Lincoln. I think it was one of those with forward and rear facing seats. I got part of the plate, it was TPS3.”

Don, still seething, nodded as if the information given to him was much more than he needed to know. As if he already knew who had taken Gerard and these details were merely confirmation.

“Mikey,” Don began, trying to keep the anger out of his voice when speaking to his son. “You need to find and speak to Emmett again. Tell him what’s happened and he’ll get Gerard back, I promise.”  
“So, that was really him?” Mikey glanced down for a moment. “I didn’t… I wasn’t sure if I recognised him.”  
“You were just a child when you last saw him, I’m hardly surprised,” Donna countered.  
“But Gee didn’t either,” Mikey added, raising a frown from both his parents.  
“Well,” Don shrugged, “you’ve had to deal with a lot over the past couple of years. Maybe it’s not surprising?”  
“So, he can come out of hiding now? Why was he hiding?”  
“Technically, no,” Don sighed. “He was risking a lot to get this DVD to you but you had to have it. We had to be able to explain what was going on but it seems that events have moved faster than we anticipated.”  
“You expected this?” Mikey gasped. “He didn’t say anything about us being in danger!”  
“Not this exactly, no, but…” Don paused. “Mikey, promise me you’ll speak to Emmett then stay out of this.”  
“Stay out!” Mikey gasped. “They’ve taken Gee! How can I stay out?”  
“Sweetheart, it’s too dangerous for you,” Donna implored.  
“No, I can’t promise that,” he shook his head. “I won’t! Gee wouldn’t sit back and wait if it was me they’d taken and I’m in a better position to help him than he would be!”  
“How?” Don shook his head. “You’re only at the beginning of your training. These people have years of experience!”

Mikey glanced briefly at Frank and Ray before turning a stern expression back to the TV.

“I’m not alone and we’re not afraid! So tell us everything we need to know and let us help, or I might as well just switch the TV off now.”

Donna’s eyes widened in horror at the idea of her baby boy careering into what would be the battle of his life - with or without information. Don appeared briefly furious, his face reddening once more and his jaw clenched rigid. It was only when his wife moved to take his hand in hers and gave a reassuring and gentle squeeze did he begin to relax.

“Mikey, you’re so young…”  
“I need to do this!” He insisted.  
“Let me finish,” Don nodded for emphasis. “You’re very young and only at the beginning of your training, but you are already far braver than we could possibly have imagined. Mikey, we’ve always been proud of you, we want you to know that but what you’ve shown us today makes me realise that we have a son… two sons, who could never let us down. You are everything we could possibly want from a son and so much more. All I… we ask is that you accept whatever help you can get. From Emmett, from the Academy, don’t try to do everything yourself.”  
“Teamwork,” Mikey nodded.  
“It’s what the Paladins are all about. Emmett will be able to contact the others. You three won’t be on your own.”  
“Thanks, dad,” Mikey smiled with a mixture of pride and gratitude. “Uncle Emmett said he’s be here later today to talk to us.”  
“Good,” Don nodded. “Okay, it’s time for you to hear everything. Top up your mugs boys, this may take a while.”

Mikey, Ray and Frank settled back as Don and Donna Way began their explanation.

“Boys, as you now know there are a number of people around the world with a variety of powers such as your own. Mikey, you have telekinesis and can enter dreams, Frank, you have considerable mind control powers, or at least you will have if you apply yourself,” Don qualified his previous comment to Frank’s annoyance.  
“I apply myself!” He pouted in return.

Both Ray and Mikey merely turned their heads to stare at the younger boy. Their expressions of disdain alone were enough for him to retract the statement.

“Yeah, okay, but I will,” he grumbled. “I will!” He insisted as his friends continued to stare.

Don Way smiled at the exchange; at least now, even if not just for himself, the boy had a good reason.

“And Ray, one of your powers, light bending, is progressing very well indeed.”

 _One of?_ Ray didn’t comment, but it was news to him that he had another power he wasn’t aware of and he couldn’t help his mind ruminating on it as Don continued.

“As you know the Paladin Society was established by us to protect the world from those who would misuse their powers. We also set up the academy to help train those with powers and instil in them the concept of upholding the law and standing up for truth and individual rights. What we later discovered was that a counter society was established called The Sentinels. It sounds altruistic, but trust me, it’s not. They are recruiting members with the intention of forcing companies and governments to do their bidding. They claim to be doing it under the guise of the greater good, but it is entirely based on their own views, needs and ultimately - power and greed. It goes against democracy, freedom and everything we believe in and stand for.”  
“We’ve been working with Emmett,” Donna continued, “to find out who are the members and indeed even the leaders of the organisation. All we know so far is that there is one man dealing with the day to day organisation but that he is working with a team of high-ranking lackeys. We believe there is one person who oversees everything but we have no idea who that might be. There is another issue though, boys and that is there is a strong possibility that the Academy has been infiltrated, so be careful who you trust.”  
“Can’t you give us any idea how to find Gee?” Mikey asked, feeling the story lacked so much information that it seemed impossible to track him.  
“Of course, sweetie,” Donna smiled. “Use your powers. When Gee falls asleep, enter his dream and ask him.”  
“Oh, that’s going to be one hell of a conversation!” Mikey rolled his eyes.  
“Mikey!” Don replied sternly.  
“Dad, he doesn’t know I have powers and he definitely doesn’t know he does!”  
“Unfortunately,” Don replied with a grim frown, “by the time you speak to him, I doubt very little will surprise him.”  
“What do you mean?” Mikey’s eyes widened as he grew increasingly nervous at the mysterious statement.  
“We suspect… we know people have used powers against him already,” Don part explained.  
“Well, that was evasive!” Mikey snapped. “Tell me!”

Don and Donna glanced briefly at each other. Don’s pursed lips and slightly hunched shoulders suggested reluctance, but Donna was already nodding.

“Tell him. It won’t change anything but he deserves to know,” she prompted.  
“Okay,” Don licked his lips, distracted by the desire to say nothing. “Because you and Gerard are our sons, we know when powers are being used against you, or if people are hurting you in any way. We just don’t know who those people are.”  
“Someone’s hurting him?” He asked, his voice thinning with concern.  
“No, not yet at least. I’m just saying we’d know. But he has been weakened to stop him fighting them.”

Mikey’s expression darkened noticeably.

“When I find him, I’m going to…”  
“Get Emmett or another fully trained Paladin to rescue him,” Don cut in immediately.  
“How can I if I don’t know who to trust?” Mikey waved his arms, almost hitting Ray and Frank as he did.  
“There is another you can trust,” Donna added.  
“Really?” Don sighed. “You’re bringing him in?”  
“Don, they have Gerard, the more on our side the better. He’ll contact you today. His name’s Grant. Now, get some rest, you’ll need it. We have to go now. You know how to reach us. We love you, Mikey.”

Mikey nodded. He felt as though he should be used to weird by now, but no. This was beyond weird and yet, at the same time, it was wonderful.

“I love you too, mom. You too, dad. And…” he paused. “I don’t know if anything else can happen to you, but if it can, please stay safe.”  
“You too, sweetheart.”

Donna blew a kiss towards her son as he lifted the TV remote to switch it off. Slumping back in the couch he sighed heavily. It summed up the mood of the room perfectly.

*

It was just less than an hour later that the limousine pulled in through the huge ornate automatic gates. Ahead of them stood a rambling stately old mansion. Brown stone incorporating impressive latticed wooden beams within the structure and interspersed with overhanging Virginia creeper; its leaves an idyllic mixture of hues of green and russet. The car pulled up outside a dark, heavy mahogany door, which opened slowly.

Gerard hadn’t moved since Belle had used her power on him, but all through the ride to the mansion, Gerard could feel his muscles slowly returning to his control. He felt weak still, but he hoped to have sufficient energy to make a break for it on being allowed out of the car. To his dismay however, as the engine was shut off, he felt his head pushed forward and down by Mason, the man to his left, and Belle pull his arms behind him.

His eyes widened in alarm; if she managed to tie his hands together it would severely reduce his chances of escape. Using all his available, but still limited, strength he pulled free from her and pushed Mason’s hand from his head. Lunging forward, Gerard reached for the door handle, gasping with relief as it swung open he pushed himself from the seat and jumped out. Tumbling forward, unable to maintain his balance, Gerard sprawled on the ground, his hands scuffing and scraping against the gravel driveway. Landing heavily, it took him a few moments to gather his wits and realising to his distress that he had used the bulk of his renewed energy merely escaping from the car. Determined not to let it stop him, Gerard pushed himself to his knees and prepared to stand as two sets of hands grabbed him from behind, holding onto him firmly and preventing him from rising.

“Nice try,” Anders commented with an infuriating chuckle as he snapped a set of handcuffs around Gerard’s wrists and beckoned for the others to allow him to stand.

Pulled to his feet, the boy was to find all his strength and resolve slip away from him once more. Not from the use of any power, but merely the presence of a fourth person now emerged from inside the mansion.

“Uncle Emmett?” Gerard gasped, bewildered and more than a little scared.  
“Take him downstairs,” the old man began, a slight smile gracing his lips. “Make him… comfortable.”

Pulled forward towards the door, Gerard dug his heels into the gravel of the driveway but the man and woman holding him were too strong and he was unable to prevent himself being dragged inside.

“What’s going on? What do you want?” Gerard yelled as he was pulled past Emmett. “Let me go!”


	9. Another Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mystery deepens

Gerard didn’t have much time to take in his surroundings as he was dragged through the main hallway of the mansion and towards the back of the building. Few doors were open, but he was surprised to see that the layout and style of furnishings could easily have been chosen by the same person or people that had furnished his own family home. The functional but antique style seemed quite distinct and it unnerved him to think that whoever owned this mansion could have been close to his parents. Was it Emmett? The idea that the man who was supposed to be taking care of him and Mikey being responsible for his abduction terrified him.

Pushed through a doorway, Gerard pulled up sharply as a steep stairway loomed immediately in front of him leading down into a dark basement that, as yet, remained unlit.

“What? Afraid of the dark, kid?” Mason cackled, happy to point out Gerard’s nervous response.  
“I’m not afraid of anything!” Gerard snapped back, although he had to admit, even if just to himself, that he was scared about what was currently happening to him.  
“Yeah, right,” Mason laughed. “It’s coming off you in waves, kid and you’re not even fooling yourself. Now get down those stairs, or do I have to push you?”

Gerard edged forward, uncertain where his foot would land. Tapping the floor with the toe of his shoe before risking putting any weight on it. Behind him, Mason gave a heavy impatient sigh before shoving Gerard forward. Catching his heel on the step as he tried to regain his balance, Gerard cried out in shock as he found himself stumbling forward and with nothing underfoot to prevent a fall, he lurched forward. Unable to grab for a rail with his hands still locked behind him, Gerard screwed up his eyes, preparing himself for a painful roll down the stone steps resulting in severe injury at best or his likely death.

Holding his breath, it was a moment or two before he realised that he hadn’t yet landed, but could feel he was still moving. Opening his eyes, they widened and he gasped, unable to comprehend what was happening. He watched silently as he floated roughly three feet above the stairs then across the floor. Reaching, or at least trying to reach, for the floor with both his arms and legs, Gerard was unable to even change position and he remained held in mid-air. Turning his head back towards the sound of Mason walking slowly down the stairs he saw the man’s smirk, suggesting he was enjoying the sight of Gerard’s confusion and now obvious fear.

“How… how are you doing that?” Gerard stammered.  
“Really?” Mason rolled his eyes as finally he switched on the lights illuminating the basement. “Your own brother can do it but you’re asking me?”  
“Mikey?” Gerard stared in response, not knowing what else to say.

Mason tipped his head to the right as he noted Gerard’s expression, the furrowed brow, staring eyes and his mouth slightly open, all told him one very important piece of information.

“You really don’t know, do you?”  
“Know what?” Gerard asked; his voice holding a slight shake, he wasn’t entirely certain he wanted to know.  
“Surely you know about your parents? The Paladins, the Academy? The Sentinels?”

Gerard swallowed thickly; he had watched the DVD, it had even explained some of what he had mentioned but even having heard it, he had found it impossible to truly absorb. Being told about super powers was one thing, seeing it in action was another entirely. Part of him had dismissed the idea out of hand and assumed his parents had referred to high intelligence and other more natural gifts. This was much more than he had believed, or even wanted to believe.

“Boy,” Mason chuckled to himself, “do you have a lot to learn! And, I’m guessing probably not the way you wanted to learn it.”

Tipping Gerard until he was now floating upright, Mason lowered him down, allowing him to simply drop the last few inches to the floor. Now standing upright and back on solid ground, he looked around the basement. Even if Gerard wasn’t already scared, Mason knew that the sight of the room would be enough to draw it out of him. Saying nothing, the man waited as Gerard looked at the bed located near the far wall, a small sink with some toiletries to the left of it and another area that was sectioned off. All of this stood behind a row of solid steel bars with a sturdy and secure looking gate, slightly ajar, in the centre. Gerard’s breathing began to come to him in quick, shallow breaths and his mind was racing, all the while listing and dismissing potential escape plans that he knew couldn’t work.

“This used to be a wine cellar,” Mason explained, adopting an almost conversational tone and ignoring Gerard’s obvious distress as he turned a worried and somewhat bleak expression towards him. “They put the expensive stuff in there to keep it safe. We’re doing the same, but with you. Inside!”  
“You’re keeping me safe?” Gerard scoffed; the idea sounded ridiculous to him. “What from? What do you want?”  
“I want you to go inside. Did you not hear me?” Mason growled.  
“And if I don’t?” Gerard replied, lifting his head and staring, despite his fear, with his best attempt at a defiant pose.

Mason shook his head and laughed. As he did, the gate flew open and Gerard was propelled at speed through the air as if he had been picked up bodily and flung inside. He landed heavily on the cold stone floor rolling still further towards the back wall, driven on by the force of the attack. As he drew to a halt the gate slammed shut behind him, locking automatically.

“I do it for you,” Mason replied simply. “I suggest you get comfortable, you’re going to be here a while but don’t worry, you’ll have company soon enough.”

Gerard pushed himself to his feet and limped back to the bars, his face a picture of misery. It was too much for him to take in. Only the day before he had been excited about going to his first choice of art college, now he was locked in the basement of a man claiming to be his uncle, for what purpose he couldn’t even begin to guess and now this other man was threatening Mikey.

“Leave him alone!” Gerard gripped the bars, staring frantically at Mason as he retreated towards the stairs. “Whatever this is, you don’t need Mikey!”

Mason allowed his lips to turn up into a mocking smirk before nodding.

“You’ve got a lot to learn, Gerard,” he laughed shaking his head. “I hope you’re a quick study.”

Gerard watched silently as mason left the basement, leaving the light on as he went. Overwhelmed by events and his imprisonment, Gerard rolled a half turn across the bars until he faced inwards, taking in his surroundings. He had no way of contacting Mikey, the police or indeed anyone. They had taken his watch and his phone leaving him completely without contact with the outside world. Taking a few steps into his cell, Gerard was surprised to find that the sectioned off area included a small bathroom area and a selection of clothes in his size and taste. Lifting the top shirt from the small pile he noticed the label - it was from one of the shops he liked. As he sorted through the clothes, including jeans, dress pants, t-shirts, button downs, underwear, even footwear, his heart sank as he realised that they must have been watching him for a long time. But who were they and what did they want?

*

Frank and Ray watched as Mikey paced back and forth across the room, neither boy willing to suggest he sit down and both remained more or less fixed in their positions, not really daring to move themselves. After ten minutes of watching the younger Way stalk back and forth, Ray felt a thought land in his head. Closing his eyes he sighed quietly before giving Frank a sidelong glance. It wasn’t that he particularly minded Frank communicating with him that way, but the clumsy and heavy-handed way he had done it told him that the younger boy wanted to be certain that Ray couldn’t simply ignore that it had arrived. It was particularly annoying because he couldn’t reply in kind and would be forced to speak. The only saving grace was that it was actually a good idea.

“Mikey,” Ray began only to be interrupted almost immediately.  
“If you’re going to tell me to sit down, I can’t.”

Mikey turned to face him, shaking his head and waving his arms across his chest in a gesture that suggested the idea was impossible and confirmed either his inability or unwillingness to sit. Ray’s expression, initially one of surprise at how animated the boy was, softened into a gentle and empathic smile. Mikey’s movements had been jerky and fast, reminiscent of a tightly wound clockwork toy. It was as if, any moment now, he would flip over in the air and start again. He looked pale, his brow furrowed and his words were clipped. Frank had been right, something was needed to distract him and his idea was perfect. Ray just hoped Mikey would listen.

“I wasn’t going to say that,” he replied in a low, smooth tone that seemed to calm Mikey’s agitation on its own.  
“Oh,” Mikey sighed - ironically, he had now stopped pacing to listen. “What was it you were going to say?”  
“I thought that maybe we could be doing something practical?” He replied with a hopeful shrug. “Perhaps we could practise our powers? We’re going to need them and I know these guys have got years on us, but maybe we should be at least as ready as we can be?”

Mikey seemed to ponder the idea. The idea of them being so inexperienced in comparison to the people they were up against was a daunting one and normally enough for him to question the point of even doing a few hours of extra training - as if it would be enough to make even the slightest difference. But Ray’s final comment of being at least as ready as they could be really hit home with Mikey and he found himself nodding.

“Yeah,” he pursed his lips. “That’s a good idea. How should we do it?”

Ray gave the question a few moments’ thought before looking up and smiling.

“I think maybe we could make it as real as possible. We should all go to a different room and take it in turns to try to make our way back to this room. The other two should try to stop the third. Ideally, the way to do it would be that the two looking should have no idea where the other is or, if they do sense him to not be able to find or stop him. Does that make sense?”  
“Hide and go seek with powers?” Mikey raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the idea.  
“Essentially,” Ray shrugged, hoping the idea didn’t sound as lame to Mikey as he had made it appear.  
“I like it,” Mikey grinned. “Who’s first?”  
“Frank,” Ray replied. “He’s got the most to learn.”  
“What?” Frank’s head snapped up in a mixture of indignation and alarm. “It was my idea!”

Mikey smiled, he had a fairly good idea what Ray was referring to.

“Yeah, but you need to figure out how to be a bit more subtle with your thought placements. That idea landed with all the grace of a drunken duck!”

Frank straightened himself up and scowled at Ray.

“That was intentional,” he replied, almost pouting as he did.  
“Prove it then,” Ray smirked.  
“I will!” Frank snapped in return. “And you two can’t just hang around in here waiting for me!”  
“Okay, that’s fair,” Ray agreed. “Now, you have two minutes then we’re looking for you. And don’t forget, we can use our powers too and work together if we want to.”

Frank’s face formed another scowl; he hadn’t considered that aspect of the chase.

“How do we know who’s won?” He asked.

Ray glanced around; what caught his eye was a pot of coffee still standing on the table near the couch.

“If you can get back in here and pour yourself a coffee without us catching or stopping you, you’ve won.  
“Right, you’re on!” Frank replied, turning on his heels and racing from the room.

Watching as Frank headed quickly down the corridor, Mikey glanced at Ray, a playful smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“I don’t suppose we could just hide the coffee?”

Ray grinned at Mikey; at least he had somehow managed to hold onto his sense of humour. It wasn’t going to win them anything, but somehow it gave Ray a sense of hope.

“I like it, but no,” he chuckled. “Come on, let’s find him.”

About to head out to practise their powers by tracking Frank and stopping him from returning, they were interrupted by the doorbell. Mikey sighed and flapped his arms to the side.

“Typical!” Mikey rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Frank! There’s someone at the door. We’ll put this on hold for a minute!”

Mikey shouted down the corridor before setting off for the door. Part of the way there, he hesitated, remembering the last time when Gerard had answered the door alone.

“Ray?” He spoke quietly as the doorbell rang again. “Last time when Gee answered…”

Mikey had no need to finish the sentence as Ray immediately knew what he meant and jogged over to accompany him.

“I’ll open it, Mikes,” Ray placed his hand on the door handle, “I’m older and bigger. It won’t be quite so easy if someone wants to try anything.”

Mikey nodded grateful for Ray’s thoughtfulness and stood behind him, out of sight, as he slowly opened the door. Ray frowned, his brow creasing with concern as he saw no one waiting outside. There wasn’t even any sign anyone had been there, no car, no delivery, nothing. Suspicious but unwilling to step outside and make himself vulnerable, Ray made use of his powers. By bending light carefully around himself, he effectively made himself invisible. Feeling secure in the knowledge that he couldn’t be seen Ray crept outside, moving soundlessly over the stone paving. Frowning once more, Ray stepped back inside, returned the light to its usual straight route and closed the door.

“I don’t know what that was,” he said with concern. “Are all the doors and windows secure?”  
“Yeah,” Mikey nodded, “this was the only door we’d opened since we got up.”  
“Come on,” Ray added, let’s go back in.

Heading back to the living room, both boys were surprised to see Frank sitting on the couch drinking a mug of coffee.

“You took your time!” He laughed.  
“You can’t claim that!” Ray laughed at his audacity.  
“We told you it was on hold,” Mikey scoffed.  
“Someone was at the door?” Frank asked with a grin.  
“Yeah… well, no…” Ray narrowed his eyes. “Was that you?”  
“Of course it was me!” Frank tipped his head and toasted them with his mug. “I put the thought in your heads that you’d heard the doorbell and neither of you felt me do it! So, yeah, I’m claiming this one.”

Ray and Mikey glanced at each other. Ray nodded and Mikey shrugged.

“Yeah,” Mikey nodded, smiling at his friend. “That was pretty impressive actually.”

Frank leaned forward to place the now empty mug on the table.

“So…”

He didn’t get any further before the doorbell rang again. Looking up at Mikey and Ray, he could see them staring back at him with accusatory glances.

“That’s not me,” Frank shook his head.  
“Really?” Ray tipped his head.  
“Really!” Frank replied, finding it hard not to laugh at their disbelief.

Ray sighed, if this was a prank, it was in poor taste.

“All right, but if you’re messing with…”  
“Ray, I’m not!” Frank insisted as the bell rang again.

Ray headed to the door with Mikey trailing behind. This time on opening it, two men stood in the doorway. One was tall, bald with sharp features and an almost mischievous air about him. The other dark-haired in a modern cropped style with a stubble-beard and athletic build. Both appeared to be in their late forties or early fifties.

“Can I help you?” Ray asked, polite but with a suspicious edge.  
“We’re here to see Mikey and two of his friends,” the bald man with the Scottish accent replied. “I guess you’re one of them? I’m Grant. You’re expecting us, yeah?”  
“Yeah, we’re expecting you,” Mikey replied with uncertainty; his parents had made no mention of the other man.  
“You got any ID?” Ray asked, still blocking the door.

The bald man laughed lightly and nodded.

“You’re right,” he nodded, reaching carefully and slowly for his wallet. “Given what’s happened.”

Showing Ray several debit and credit cards and his driving licence, he allowed Ray to inspect them before allowing them to come in. Heading through to the living room, Ray introduced everyone to the newcomers.

“I’m Ray, this is Frank,” he pointed to the boy on the couch. “And this is Mikey,” he added pointing to the boy standing next to him. “This is Grant.”  
“We were expecting you,” Mikey added with a frown looking at the second man. “But no one said anything about anyone else.”  
“Oh,” the second man laughed, “I’m sorry, I thought you’d recognise me, but we haven’t seen each other since you were just a little kid. I’m your Uncle Emmett.”

Mikey’s eyes widened and it was as if all the blood drained from his face in a single moment. Almost staggering, he gaped with horror, he seemed almost ready to pass out.

“You’re Uncle Emmett!” He gasped. “Then… then who was that guy yesterday?”


	10. Explanations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gerard finally discovers why he was abducted

“What guy?” Grant asked; his face taking on a stern yet quizzical expression.  
“I don’t know!” Mikey flailed his arms out to the side in a motion that easily conveyed his distress. “He said his was our Uncle Emmett. We were surprised enough just to find out he wasn’t dead!” He added, sending an accusatory glare at the, possibly, real Emmett.

The man offered a guilty smile and shrugged, hardly surprised when Mikey’s expression barely changed.

“I had to… um... disappear. It was the easiest way to protect everyone,” Emmett replied without actually explaining anything.

Immediately he sensed six eyes boring into him. Even without looking he knew that each of the boys had realised that his answer had been evasive at best and mysterious and suspicious at worst.

“How do we know you are his uncle?” Frank asked, pushing himself quickly, almost leaping, from the couch. Approaching Emmett with a suspicious frown and pointing an accusatory finger. “From what he’s said, he doesn’t recognise you.”  
“I didn’t recognise the other guy either,” Mikey frowned. “For all I know, neither of you are him and he is genuinely dead.”

Ray and Frank exchanged worried glances at the idea that they needed to prove that this man was indeed who he claimed to be. It seemed that even Gerard had been fooled; being so young when he last saw the man, how could Mikey possibly know?

Sighing, Emmett ran his fingers into his hair and scratched the back of his head, before looking up at the ceiling in thoughtful contemplation.

“How can I prove it to you?” He shrugged. “Can I maybe talk about things we did with you, Gee and your parents? Do you have photos?” He paused, frowning with annoyance. “No, that’s not going to help much.”  
“Why not?” Ray asked. “How much different can you look in…” he looked at Mikey to fill in the last detail.  
“Seven years,” Mikey nodded, still staring coldly at the man.  
“Yeah, well, quite a lot actually,” he sighed as he replied. “I had to disappear and stay disappeared. I had some plastic surgery done. It seemed the easiest way.”  
“I’ve known him a long time,” Grant added to the conversation. “This is Emmett, all right.”  
“How long have you known him?” Frank pressed; as long as Mikey was unconvinced, so was he.

Grant tipped his head and shrugged as he realised that the answer he was about to give was unlikely to help the situation.

“Five years,” he replied, nodding to accept that he hadn’t really confirmed anything except that he was a man that he had known as Emmett for five years. “I guess that proves nothing.”  
“Thanks, man,” Emmett turned a bewildered expression towards the Scotsman and flapped his arms out to the side in disbelief at the response.  
“I’m not saying I don’t believe you, I’m just saying it doesn’t help Mikey!” Grant replied, his pitch increasing as he defended himself.  
“So where does that leave us?” Emmett raised an eyebrow.  
“Mikey,” Ray began, his eyes gleaming with an idea. “Can’t you get your parents to confirm one way or the other?”  
“Your parents?” Emmett gasped, staring wide-eyed at Mikey.  
“What about them?” Mikey’s eyes narrowed, still suspicious of this new supposed uncle.  
“But, you’d need the DVD for that,” he cocked his head, confused at how he could have received it. “It was stolen from me by a Sentinel agent years ago. How do you have it?”

Mikey straightened up and his expression softened somewhat; it was beginning to sound plausible that he was who he said he was. Deciding that explaining the provenance of the DVD wouldn’t give anything away that might need to be kept secret should he not be who he claimed to be, Mikey replied.

“Emmett Number One gave it to us yesterday,” he replied, pursing his lips as he observed the man’s response.  
“What did he look like?” Emmett asked, now curious about the alternate Emmett.  
“Older, sixties or seventies maybe. Very smartly dressed, white hair,” Mikey paused to think for a moment. “Walked with a cane, but he didn’t look like he needed it.”

Emmett turned a concerned glance toward Grant only to receive a grim nod in return.

“Sounds like Oliver,” Grant mused, his brow creasing as he spoke the words.  
“Oliver who?” Mikey prompted.  
“No, that’s his last name,” Emmett replied, his expression one of confusion. “Benjamin Oliver,” he paused to shake his head before looking back at Grant. “But... It can’t be!”

Grant shrugged deeply, as if trying to shake the very doubt he felt from his shoulders. It sounded implausible to them that Oliver could have turned up out of the blue and with the DVD too. Could he also be involved in Gerard’s abduction? That last detail seemed far beyond their imagination.

“Who is he?” Mikey demanded.  
“He trained me and your father,” Emmett replied, still apparently shaken by the possibility.  
“And me,” Grant added, with a blank stare of disbelief.  
“I mean, he’s a senior Paladin. Possibly the senior Paladin. I don’t understand,” Emmett sighed. “And I especially don’t understand why he’s pretending to be me! He doesn’t need to pretend to be anyone!”  
“Mikey,” Ray interrupted the two men’s bewilderment. “Perhaps it’s time to play the DVD again?”

Mikey nodded; the answers seemed only to be slipping further and further away from him and he was growing ever more confused with each revelation. Realistically, he wasn’t going to be happy until he spoke with Gerard, but he couldn’t do that until his brother fell asleep. Even then, happiness was a relative term.

Not waiting for Mikey to potentially refuse, Frank pressed play for the DVD and angled the TV towards the newcomers. As the screen lit up and Mikey’s and Gerard’s parents appeared, Frank breathed a deep sigh of relief at their first words:

“Emmett, Grant, it’s good to see you again,” Donna beamed a smile. “How are you?”  
“We’re okay, Donna and it’s great to see you too, but there’s something you need to know,” Emmett began, a grim expression on his face eliciting matching ones from Don and Donna Way. “The man who brought the DVD to the boys, it wasn’t me.”  
“Not you?” Don frowned deeply. “But Mikey said…”  
“He told Mikey he was me,” Emmett explained quickly. “Mikey was too young last time he saw me to remember what I looked like. Gerard too, he’d only be about ten.”  
“So, who was it?” Donna asked, her brow creased with confusion. “And how did they have the DVD?”  
“That’s the problem,” Emmett sighed, barely knowing how to explain something he didn’t understand himself. “It sounded, from Mikey’s description, like Oliver. But why would he pretend to be me? Unless you know anyone else it could be?”  
“Mikey,” Don Way began, “think carefully, can you describe the man is as full a detail as you can?”

Mikey appeared thoughtful for a few moments. He had previously given every detail that he had thought of to Grant and Emmett, but perhaps there was more? Yes! There was more. His face lit up as he recalled.

“Yeah, okay, I’ve remembered more. First of all, he was, I’d say early seventies, very… I want to say more creased than wrinkly, tanned skin, white hair, very smartly dressed. I mean like, if he’d been wearing a top hat it wouldn’t have looked out of place! He walked with a silver-topped cane but didn’t lean on it, didn’t even look like he needed it. He read my mind… a lot. I couldn’t guard against him,” Mikey exhaled deeply. “He knew about Frank too.”  
“What?” Frank looked up alarmed at the statement that a complete stranger knew about him. “Knew what about me?”  
“He told me that… well… he said that Frank wouldn’t be able to keep Gerard from hearing things on the DVD that might confuse him.”  
“Oh, he did, did he?” Frank drew himself up, indignant at the suggestion. “I’m better than he thinks I am!”  
“Anything else?” Don asked, ignoring Frank’s outburst, his expression now grim and concerned.  
“Yeah,” Mikey nodded. “He wore a lapel pin. It was silver, with green bits.”  
“Green?” Don stared wide-eyed at the detail.  
“Yeah, what does that mean?”

Mikey adopted a part-confused, part-concerned expression as he saw the worry in his parents’ eyes and heard the surprised gasps from both Grant and Emmett.

“Did you see any detail?” Donna pressed.  
“No, sorry, it was really tiny,” Mikey looked apologetic, wishing he had paid more attention.  
“If it’s what I think it is, it’s the emblem of the Sentinels, a sort of Roman soldier with a sword held up across his chest.”  
“A Sentinel?” Mikey turned a puzzled expression towards Grant and Emmett. “But you said this guy trained you! How could he be?”  
“That’s a really good question,” Emmett replied, his expression bleak and concerned.  
“He said he was coming back today to discuss the DVD and any questions we have,” Mikey announced to everyone’s surprise.  
“Is he now?” Grant smirked after the initial shock. “Well, I have a lot of questions myself! I’m going to move the car. Better he doesn’t know you have company.”

Mikey nodded at the suggestion; now more than ever they needed to know who this man really was and what he wanted. Above all, did he know what had happened to Gerard?

*

Gerard was sitting on the bed when he heard the door to the basement open and a few moments later, close softly. A light padding sound on the stairs - not loud, but in the silence of the basement loud enough to be heard - let him know that someone was on the way down. The accompanying click told him that it was the man he believed to be his maternal uncle Emmett. Looking up without moving from the bed, Gerard’s expression was hollow and bleak as he eyed the elderly man approaching the bars.

As the man came into view, Gerard saw that he was carrying a tray. The smell of whatever lay within the bowl intriguing his olfactory senses only moments after his eyes had caught a glimpse of it. As hungry as he now realised he was, Gerard remained stoic, refusing to show what he considered any sign of weakness. Looking up, he stared at the old man with narrowed, resentful eyes.

“Now, now, Gerard,” the man chuckled lightly, much to Gerard’s irritation. “There’s no need for that, it’s just some lunch. I know you’re hungry.”  
“Oh, do you now?” Gerard replied, scathing in his tone. “Who are you?”

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he smiled surprisingly kindly at the boy and tipped his head.

“So much anger,” he mused, as he placed the tray atop one of the low cabinets lining the walls of the basement. “I guess that’s to be expected.”

Pushing himself to his feet, furious at what he felt was the man’s patronising tone, Gerard approached the bars. Looking out, he glared at the man who had posed as his uncle.

“Who are you?” He repeated, raising his hands to grip two of the bars. “You’re not my Uncle Emmett, you can’t be. So who are you? And… what do you want?”

The man turned a concerned eye towards Gerard; the obvious shake in his question suddenly and clearly announcing his barely concealed fear. He frowned as he stared back at the boy, deciding how to respond.

“You’re right, I’m not your uncle,” he sighed. “But, you should know he is still alive and he was supposed to give you that DVD when you turned eighteen.”  
“So why didn’t he?” Gerard scowled.  
“It was stolen from him,” the man replied simply.  
“By you?” Gerard asked in an accusatory tone.  
“No,” the elderly man laughed and shook his head. “I… retrieved it.”

Gerard shook his head, furious at the evasive responses. Slamming his hand against one of the bars, his anger overrode his fear and he yelled at the man.

“Who are you? And what do you want?”

The man took in a slow deep breath, at the same time understanding and disapproving of Gerard’s outburst.

“My name is Dr Benjamin Oliver and I’m in charge of keeping you safe.”  
“Safe!” Gerard gasped, outraged by the reply. “Safe from what? The only danger I’ve been in is from the guys who brought me here! The one that threatened to push me down those stairs? Who picked me up and threw me in here? Safe from them? I’m in the wrong place for that!”  
“Mason did that?” Oliver scowled deeply. “I’m very sorry, Gerard, I will ensure that sort of behaviour does not happen again.”

Gerard stepped a pace back from the bars and calmed slightly; this situation was puzzling to say the least.

“What danger am I supposed to be in?” He asked quietly. “And if I am, what about Mikey?”  
“Mikey is only in danger as a means of getting to you. Now that you are not together, no one will go near him.”  
“He was in danger? Who from?” Gerard narrowed his eyes, concerned that someone had, at the very least, intended to hurt his brother.  
“Unfortunately I can’t answer that,” Oliver replied, his words edged with regret.  
“Can’t or won’t?” The accusatory tone returned to Gerard’s voice.  
“I promise you Gerard, it’s because I can’t. If I knew who it was, none of this would be necessary.” Oliver swept his arm across in front of him, indicating the bars and Gerard’s newly enforced accommodation.  
“I don’t understand, what are you talking about?”

Turning to fetch a chair from the other side of the room, Oliver placed it down in front of the bars.

“I can explain what you need to know, but would you like to eat while I do? I don’t want your soup to go cold.”

Gerard frowned; he was hungry, he hadn’t eaten since he got up and the soup did smell so good. Finally nodding, Gerard gave in to his need to eat.

“Please,” he added.

Using telekinesis to lift the tray, Oliver sat down as the tray floated gently to the floor un front of the barred door. A separate section of bars at the bottom roughly six inches deep unlatched itself and lifted. Gerard watched, pale and unnerved, as the tray slid inside after which the small flap closed and latched itself once more.

“How…” Gerard looked from the tray to Oliver. “How do you do that?”  
“It’s one of my powers, like your father and Mikey.”  
“M-mikey can do that?” He stammered.  
“You don’t know?” Oliver’s brow furrowed at the question. “But you watched the DVD, yes?”  
“Yeah, but I… I didn’t think they meant weird stuff like that! I thought they just meant… and I didn’t know they meant Mikey too.”  
“But you know that Mikey attends the Paladin Academy?” It was Oliver’s turn to sound confused.

Gerard merely shook his head, bewildered by the information. Had Mikey been lying to him for the last… how long? Weeks, months, years?

“I am very, very sorry Gerard,” Oliver sounded genuinely contrite. “I had no idea that you knew about none of this.”  
“What is ‘ _this_ ’?” Gerard asked, at a loss to know what to ask.  
“Gerard, a group of us have been investigating the deaths of your parents. Do you know they were murdered?”

Gerard nodded, his shoulders sagged at the memory and his face displayed his distress at the memory.

“We’re trying to find out who killed them. We don’t know who, but we believe know why.”  
“Why?” Gerard asked, moving closer to the bars again, his eyes wide and urgent.  
“With their deaths, there was no one to tell you about your powers and to prepare you for them. Your grief probably even delayed their emergence. We suspect that the Sentinels intended to try to recruit you. We’re aware they you’ve been applying to art colleges. Once there, you would be separated from Mikey and they would be able to work to bring you into their organisation.”  
“I don’t understand,” Gerard shook his head. “Why me? If Mikey has powers, why not him? Why not both of us?”  
“Because, Gerard, you’re an Elemental, or at least you will be, with training. The most powerful of all Paladins. It’s very rare and they want to use you.”  
“You mean…” It was as if all the colour and energy had drained from Gerard and he appeared weak and exhausted, still gripping the bars as if for support. “You mean our parents were killed because of me?”

Oliver’s expression softened as he saw the pain in the boy’s face.

“No, Gerard, your parents were killed because of greed, fear and violence. We brought you here to keep you safe and to try to bring justice to your family.”


	11. Oliver Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver heads back to Mikey's house, but finds more than he expected

As he began to eat his soup, Gerard glanced up as Oliver left the basement, the only sound prior to the door closing that he heard was his angry voice calling his colleague.

“Mason!” Oliver yelled with barely contained fury.

The basement stairs led out into a corridor that led to the kitchen and pantry area of the old and sprawling mansion. Despite being a relatively long walk up another flight of stairs and along a passageway that led to the dining room, Oliver’s voice was loud enough to carry all the way to its intended target. Rising from the large oval and ornate cherrywood table, Mason frowned, immediately recognising the anger in the older man’s tone.

Oliver emerged into the dining room through a discreet door that appeared at a casual glance to be panelling, but was one of the entrances to both the kitchens and what had once been the servant’s quarters. The room was large and dominated by the table, large enough for up to twelve people to dine comfortably, and also by a magnificent marble fireplace. Central heating had long since been introduced to the mansion but each of the radiators had been painted to match the decor and went almost unnoticed, lost against the wallpaper or panelling in each room. A crystal chandelier hung low over the table and, apart from a few well placed lamps, was the room’s sole source of lighting. With the room intended to be used almost entirely in the evening, the window was, compared with other rooms, relatively small and the curtains covered almost half even when open, leaving it dimly lit even with all lights switched on.

“What’s wrong?” Mason asked as the door closed behind Oliver.  
“How have you been treating our guest?” Oliver asked, his voice emerging cold and clipped.  
“Guest?” Mason chuckled at the word. “Are you serious?”  
“I am entirely serious,” he replied adopting a threatening glare as he stepped a few paces closer. “While he is here, you will treat him with the utmost respect and as if your life depended on his safety.”  
“Why?” Mason snapped with distaste.

A bolt of energy barrelled into Mason’s chest, driving the air from his lungs and lifting him from the floor. His arms and legs flew forward as the energy’s momentum threw him backwards before gravity took hold and sent him crashing down onto the hardwood floor leaving him gasping for breath and dazed.

“Because, my dear son, your life does depend on his safety. Possibly all our lives, so you will treat him well.”  
“He’s no threat,” Mason gasped out as he pushed himself up onto his elbows.  
“Not yet, but he will either become the ultimate threat or the ultimate ally. Choose wisely and you might even live to appreciate the choice.”

Mason merely grunted in reply, gazing off to the side with an angry pout settled on his face.

“I’m going to visit Mikey. Keep an eye on Gerard. Make sure you keep watching the monitors and don’t let him sleep yet.”  
“And don’t hurt the precious baby,” Mason muttered under his breath.

Hearing the words, but deciding not to comment further, Oliver shook his head with a combination of disdain and disappointment. Sighing deeply, he turned towards the door and walked out to his car.

Only moments after the front door closed, Belle entered the dining room as Mason was finally pushing himself upright.

“Not your day, is it, Mason?”  
“Shut up!”  
“What?” She laughed. “Does daddy likes Gerard more than you?”  
“I said, shut up!” He yelled sending a bolt of energy hurtling towards Belle only to have it easily batted aside at the mere wave of her hand, the ease of the action frustrating him even more.  
“If you want your powers to be stronger, you have to practise and I don’t mean on the boy.”  
“Volunteering are you?” He asked with a sneer.  
“Yeah, I guess I could take time out of my busy day to kick your ass.”  
“Don’t get cocky, Belle, one day you’ll see what I’m capable of and you’ll regret ever doubting me!”  
“I don’t doubt you, Mason,” Belle replied in a blunt tone. “You’d be much more powerful if you practised, but you’re lazy and entitled. You just want everything to come to you without effort and that’s not how it works. I want to be proud of you, you are my brother after all, but you want all the respect without any of the effort.”  
“It shouldn’t be an effort!” Mason complained.  
“And that’s why you’ll never be any better than you are now. Because you assume that everyone else got to where they are without effort purely because they don’t complain about it. You’re a classic bully, you want to take not work and you hate anyone who is able to do what you can’t and that includes working for what they’ve got because you’re too lazy to try!”

As Mason listened to his sister’s diatribe a combination of anger and shame began to build inside him that became visible. A shimmer of what appeared like a heat haze radiated approximately four inches from his body, morphing into a vibrant orange aura. Only when the edges of the aura began to spark did Belle stop berating him. Raising an eyebrow she nodded as she witnessed the swirl of colour encircling him.

“So, you can do it when you’re angry,” she chuckled. “Interesting.”  
“Or maybe I can do it any time I like!” Mason snapped back.  
“Then stop complaining!” Belle shook her head, tired of the argument and recognising that it was, as usual, going nowhere. “I’m going downstairs to check on Gerard. I think you need to cool down, before going anywhere near him.” Belle contemplated the sparks visibly flying from Mason’s flaming aura and nodded. “And I mean cool down literally.”  
“Whatever!” He snarled before pushing past her and heading down the corridor towards the main door.

Belle watched as he stepped outside, slamming the heavy wooden door behind him. Rolling her eyes, she turned and headed for the basement stairs.

*

“There’s a car pulling in,” Grant stepped back away from the window and turned to look at Emmett and the boys. “He’s here.”  
“Did he see you?” Emmett asked, mentally readying himself to confront his old professor, a man he respected.  
“No, I had a shield up, and I doubt he’ll be looking for anyone,” Grant replied with a decisive nod. “Okay, I’ll take the front room, you take the kitchen,” he added.  
“What about us?” Ray asked, rising from the couch as he spoke.  
“No, it’s okay,” Emmett nodded. “Mikey’s got his friends here, it’d be more suspicious if he were alone.”  
“But what do we do?” Mikey asked, his brow creasing with concern.  
“Nothing, just bring him in, see what he has to say. We’ll be next door, either side, listening.”  
“He’ll know I’m nervous,” Mikey replied shaking his head.  
“That’ll look normal anyway. Gerard’s been taken, of course you’re nervous. But don’t forget, if he mentions it first then we’ve proved he’s got him.”

Mikey nodded, it made sense.

As the pair left the room to go to their respective hiding places, Grant turned briefly towards Emmett and shrugged.

“And hope that he doesn’t try to read anyone’s mind.”

Emmett replied merely with a resigned nod and a shrug of his own as they separated.

Mikey looked up and breathed in deeply as the doorbell rang. To encouraging nods and smiles from both Frank and Ray, he rose and headed down the hallway. Opening the door, Mikey forced a smile and stood back to allow him inside. Oliver, still posing as Emmett, entered and offered a look of curiosity towards Mikey.

“Who else is here?” He asked with a frown.  
“My… my friends, Frank and Ray.” He replied with some hesitation. “I was worried.”  
“Of course,” Oliver nodded as he headed towards the living room.  
“What do you mean?” Mikey asked, trailing after him.

Turning a puzzled expression briefly towards Mikey, Oliver stepped inside the living room and regarded the other two boys.

“Ah, you must be Frank and Ray?” He asked brightly.  
“And you are?” Frank asked leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he spoke.  
“You must be Frank,” one end of Oliver’s lips curled up into a half smile, half smirk.  
“You say that like you know me,” Frank asked, leaping up from his seat, frowning with narrowed eyes at the elderly man.  
“I’m certainly aware of you,” Oliver broadened his smile. “And that makes you Ray,” he turned to look at the other boy.  
“We know who we are,” Frank continued. “We don’t know you.”  
“Oh,” he turned to look back at Frank, his expression almost hungry, “I’m sure we’ll get to know each other in time.”  
“Not at all creepy,” Frank scowled at the response, folding his arms as he continued to stare at the man.  
“So,” Oliver raised his eyebrows along with a light smile, “is Gerard not here?”

Mikey opened his mouth to speak, only to be immediately interrupted by Frank as he stepped closer to his friend as if to protect him.

“You know damn well he’s not here!” Frank snapped, furious at the denial. “Where have you taken him?”  
“I haven’t taken him anywhere,” Oliver replied, his eyes widening in an expression of surprise.  
“Oh, really?” Frank tipped his head and narrowing his eyes. “I didn’t see you, but I did see that car!” He added, throwing his arm out to point towards the window.

Getting to his feet, Ray too looked out of the window and nodded as he recognised the vehicle as the one they had both seen Gerard pulled into.

“So, who are you and what do you want?” Ray, moved forward to flank Mikey, with Frank still standing to his left.

All three watched as Oliver’s lips began to curl in a slight smirk, almost a sneer.

“I don’t believe I have to answer your questions,” Oliver chuckled to himself.  
“Maybe you can answer mine?” Grant asked stepping from the kitchen into the hallway.  
Oliver turned quickly, recognising the voice but for the moment unable to place it. Exiting the room, he pulled up sharply as Grant approached him. Backing up slowly towards the main door, Oliver stopped, his back rigid and upright, as he sensed someone behind him.

“So, a welcome party,” he stared at Grant before turning his eyes towards Mikey. “How did you know?”  
“Oh, I don’t know,” began the voice behind him, raising a smile and a nod of understanding from Oliver. “Maybe it was the real Emmett turning up.”  
“It was a risk,” he shrugged. “It was worth taking.”  
“What does that pin you’re wearing mean?” Mikey asked pointing at the green and silver emblem attached to Oliver’s lapel.  
“It means he’s gone over to the Sentinels,” Grant replied in a scathing tone, his expression one of disgust.  
“No it doesn’t,” Oliver sighed, shaking his head dismissively.  
“Where’s Gerard? And why did you come back?” Mikey demanded.  
“I’m back because I said I would be,” Oliver shrugged. “Can I…?” He indicated towards the living room.

Grant’s eyes widened in surprise at the casual request. Something seemed very off with his innocent behaviour given what they at least thought they knew.

“No!” Grant replied, his tone one of incredulity. “And, Mikey, if you could stand back, please. I don’t want him anywhere near you.”  
“You think I’ve taken Gerard and come back for Mikey?” Oliver laughed, shaking his head in a somewhat patronising and condescending way. “That doesn’t even make any sense.”  
“Oh?” Emmett spoke behind him. “And why is that?”

Oliver sighed, continuing with his condescension.

“You always did want someone to do the work for you, Emmett,” Oliver replied. “Can’t you think for yourself yet?”  
“Just answer the question!” Emmett yelled, angry and shamed, his former professor’s words triggering old memories of similar accusations and the feelings that accompanied them.  
“Very well, if I must. So, if, and I repeat, if I had taken Gerard, why would I not take Mikey at the same time? When I was here they were alone, so unless someone joined them later, it would have been just as easy,” he glanced at Mikey, “if not easier,” turning back to face Grant, he continued: “to take him too.”  
“Don’t even look at him!” Grant snapped. “We’re here to protect him and…”  
“You always were impulsive, reckless even,” Oliver scowled. “I hope you’ve changed, Grant or nobody is going to be safe with you around.”

Grant seethed at the provocative comment. Oliver was trying to get under their skin, to unbalance them and force a mistake. He could see that, but somehow it seemed to be working and he felt his shoulders and back muscles tighten at the words.

“Please,” Oliver continued. “I’m an old man, I need to sit,” he gestured towards the living room once more.

Grant stared, at first unconvinced, but in the last few moments, Oliver’s shoulders appeared to have sagged and he seemed to be leaning on his cane more than usual. Taking a deep breath, Grant looked over Oliver’s shoulder towards Emmett who, unable to see much more, merely shrugged.

“Okay, you can sit, but first, Mikey, come out of the living room and stand behind me.”

Edging his way out, uncertain of what the former professor was capable of, Mikey almost brushed along the wall as he moved towards then past Grant, standing some four feet behind him in case he needed room to move.

“Now, go in, sit on the armchair, not the couch.”  
“Very well,” Oliver smiled and gave a single nod before walking slowly into the room.

Ahead of him, Frank and Ray, both still standing in front of the couch, watched as he moved forward. Stumbling as his cane caught on a rug, Oliver lurched forward. Automatically and without thinking, Ray put his arms out to help steady the elderly man. Oliver’s hand grasped Ray’s arm just above the wrist and Ray’s eyes widened in shock as the grip felt tight and purposeful. Before he could even make a sound, Ray found himself being pulled forward, past Oliver, and flung bodily into Grant as he leapt forward to prevent whatever the older man was doing.

Emmett ran forward as Grant tried to steady himself and push Ray aside without hurting him. Raising his hand to release a holding power on Oliver, he pulled up sharply as he saw the man already had Frank in his grasp. Oliver’s hand was raised, his fingers spread and placed deep in Frank’s hair touching four selected points on his scalp. In a fraction of a second, the boy’s eyes rolled back in their sockets, his body rigid like steel.

“Frank!” Mikey ran forward, struggling against Grant who caught him as he tried to enter the room.  
“Let him go!” Emmett insisted, his hand still raised, a sphere of golden light turning slowly in his palm.  
“Don’t even think about releasing that,” Oliver warned, “or I’ll channel it straight into the boy and you know what that will do.”  
“Look, you know you can’t leave, you’re outnumbered. There’s no way out other than through us and we’re not going to allow that, so just let him go,” Emmett continued, still keeping the golden light swirling ever faster in his hand.

Oliver nodded, his mind made up.

“Well, you leave me with no choice,” he replied, to Emmett’s initial relief.

Waiting for him to release Frank, neither Emmett nor Grant noticed the initially changes until they could see the bookshelf behind them through their bodies.

“Damn it! He can discorporate!” Grant ran forward desperate to think of something that could stop him.  
“I guess I’m going to have to make my own exit,” Oliver laughed as he dragged Frank towards the window.

In an attempt to stop him, Mikey used his telekinesis to raise a heavy old book from the shelf behind Oliver and crash it down as forcefully as he could on his head, gasping as it flew straight through and landed on the floor with a loud thud. Ray too, tried his best by bending light to hide the window and make it appear as if it were another wall. Oliver merely laughed at both attempts as he continued to pull Frank through what now appeared as a wall and out to the car.

Racing after him, waiting for him to become corporeal again to enable an attack, Emmett realised that it wasn’t going to happen as he simply walked Frank through the unopened car door. Throwing the ball of light in an attempt to encircle the car and prevent it from pulling away, Emmett found himself blown backwards as the sphere was batted back towards him before it managed to fully envelope the car.

Crashing to the floor, Emmett groaned with discomfort and frustration as he heard Grant, Mikey and Ray, all caught in the blast and each landing heavily, skidding across the gravel driveway. As he opened his eyes he saw the car already half way up the driveway. Oliver was escaping and had taken Frank. The questions he now had to ask himself was: had that been intentional? Had Frank been the second target all along? And if so, why?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you like it. If so, please let me know, it’s be great to hear from you. I find it really inspiring to know if people enjoy it.
> 
> Many thanks  
> Sas xoxo


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